Angel Oak – Johns Island, South Carolina

46 Comments about Angel Oak

We have visited this marvelous tree and found it to be so awesome. It surely would be a tragedy if it were ever destroyed.

I was born in Charleston and growing up I remember a lot of about this tree. A couple of years ago I went back to see this amazing tree. It will be a shame if anything happen to it, it is a part of my history.

We agree! Make sure to check out http://www.savetheangeloak.org/ for information about how you can help to protect this amazing tree.

Oh how beautiful! I hope everything possible will be done to preserve the Angel Tree.

It is magnificent. We hope for the same, that everything will be done to save this beautiful tree.

We thought it was wonderful and cool and just wow! Now we are going to tell our family members!

It is one of the most beautiful trees in the world, you must see it for yourself!

My son moved to John’s Island and took me to see the Angel Oak on a recent visit. Words can not express the feelings of peace and that welled up inside of me as I stood and looked at this magnificent tree with the sunshine streaming thru it’s huge branches. Never before had I seen such a specimen! It and the surrounding forest must be preserved!

The Angel Oak tree has its beauties and our pride, we should save this tree. I was raised on Johns Island, and nothing that beautiful in nature should be demolished for homes and shopping centers. I attended Angel Oak Elementary and that was the first time I’d ever seen the Angel Oak tree resting in its beauty. Angel Oak Elementary was named after the tree, and without it there is no purpose for the school anymore, to me.

I was born in Charleston, and later dated a young man from Wadmalaw Island. He took me to see this humongous tree, and at first I felt fear. As I stood there to view this wonder, I than felt a sense of peace. It was an AWE moment. Being a spiritual person I thought of God, and then I began to feel calm and a peace came over me. It was a breath taking moment which I will never forget. Please preserve this awesome wonder and the surrounding area that I know protects its enormous trunks and root systems. I was 25 years old at that time and it is now 32 years later, and the feelings are still the same … IT IS AN AWESOME WONDER.

It was a sad day when Charleston confiscated this property and let it go as it has.

I grew up climbing on this tree 35 years ago. I have special memories and I am sure a lot others do too! Please save the Angel Oak.

So much of the natural beauty that was South Carolina’s — 20 foot sand dunes, pristine beaches, clear air — has been sacrificed to “progress.” Please don’t let the Angel Oak be added to that list.

This outstanding oak tree resembles to a tree in front of John’s home in the movie “Dear John”, filmed in SC.

The Angel Oak is magnificent. Everything must be done to preserve this beautiful tree. The tree was here before SC was a state or even before our ancestors came to this country on the Mayflower.

I will never forget my visit there in 2004 — the beauty was silencing!

As a child growing up in Charleston, I spent many an afternoon climbing the magnificent limbs of the ‘Angel Oak’. It was, and will always be a magical place to me. I hope that it will always be protected, and that people will realize what a treasure it is.

I remember this awesome tree as a kid. Me and my friends cut school often and would climb that tree. This was in the early 70s. I live in Texas now and miss Johns Island very much.

A beautiful and sacred place such as this should not be destroyed. Our family was fortunate to be able to visit this awesome place in 2003 and we all fell in love with it. Our grandchildren were just a little over a year old and they had such a good time running through and around the branches. Please do not destroy this magnificient piece of God’s work.

I am from New York, but I recently went down to Charleston to visit my son and family. Seeing this Angel Oak was the most enjoyable part of my visit. The closest word I can find to describe how I felt visiting this tree is “Spiritual.” Please do everything possible to keep it alive and healthy!

We visited this area for the first time this summer. What I felt when I saw the tree was a since of awe, to see something that old and living. Then I thought how maybe that God had singled-out that tree, and protected it all these years. If He cared about that tree, how much more does He care for us!
I hope the tree remains until the end of time.

My husband and I saw the Angel oak in the early 70′s It was one of the most wonderful things I had ever seen. We were coming over to Charleston for a visit and I wanted to go back to the Angel tree. Reading here and finding out about the development I began to weep. If there could be the slightest change for damage to God’s gift to us we are lost as human beings. The decline of man is seen in the way he treats nature. I am so ashamed of what we have become.

My daughter just called me to tell me, the love of her life just proposed to her under the Angel Oak. I had never heard of it as I live in New Mexico. I googled it immediately and am both overjoyed and in awe. If their wedding happens to be in SC I will surely visit this magnificent tree. What a treasure to have on this earth.

I have been coming to see the Angel Oak for many many years. I even lived in Mt. Pleasant and still came to see the tree regularly. I am taking a young cousin to see it tomorrow, and we are doing the Angel before the beach. Maybe I’ll be able to bring my granddaughter to experience and rejoice in this amazing gift.

This beautiful tree is so powerful, please don’t let them destroy any part of it. The power of God is here, just go and visit this wonderful, peaceful place. I thank you so much for the chance to see what man has not destroyed or made into a tourist trap. I stood in AWE and gazed~~Thank you.

The Angel Oak is an amazing and AWESOMELY PEACEFUL creation!
It is difficult to put into words how touched we have been each time we visited. The size of the limbs and trunk are beyond imagination. This is truly a treasure worth taking the time to experience!
The Angel Oak must be protected so that future generations may enjoy the beauty and splendor of it!

My daughter wrote a book with the Angel Oak tree featured prominently in the story. The book is The Locket by Emily Nelson. If you have visited the site of this beautiful tree, you will love reading the book!

My daughter and her husband took me to see the Angel Oak. I remember thinking, “What could be so special about a tree?” When we got there, the tree itself answered my question. There are no words to describe the magnificence of this SPECIAL creation, a gift to humanity from God! It must be preserved at all cost.

While visiting friends in Conway, we went to view this magnificent wonder of nature. There was no way we could have been prepared for what we were about to see. What a true work of nature!! I’m glad I took many awesome photos as my friends back here in Toronto, Canada will be just as awed as I was.

Please help save this majestic forest and the life instilled within it.

I hope it is saved, and I hope to have wedding pictures done there one day. It is a beautiful place.

So gorgeous! Want to go and visit as soon as possible!

Please protect that beautiful tree! Do not allow city leaders to destroy it like the city of Thomasville, GA did a few years. They cut down their ancient oak in the name of ‘progress.’ I’ll never go to Thomasville, GA again.

We visited the Angel Oak recently. What a beautiful tree. I too, hope the tree will be saved for next generations to enjoy its grandeur.

What a tree, and what a treat!
More than fifty years ago, I was a student at James Island Elementary School, living at nearby Folly Beach. I have not seen Angel Oak since then, but had heard around 1980 (on a trip to Charleston) that someone had bought the land, and sealed it off from visitors. I was heartbroken to hear that!

My introduction to Angel Oak occurred on a fifth-grade field trip. I had never, and still have never, seen anything like that great tree. Somewhere there are pictures of our class scooting up some of the horse-width limbs that rest on the ground and deliver one safely to the heart of that grand creation of God. There could be fifty or sixty of us (classes together) on one limb, and another sixty on another. I am SO glad that the tree is still there, and hope that it is open to the many folks who love that amazing, child-friendly, unforgettable, and venerable part of South Carolina’s charm.

I am currently planning my wedding and have fallen in love with the Angel Oak! I live about an hour away and was wondering if anyone around the Johns Island area would know where I could follow with my reception close by. Thanks in advance!

Like so many that have posted here, I too am fond of this magnificent handiwork from our Creator! I grew up in New York, but my mother and grandparents are from James Island. I could not wait to get away from the hustle and bustle of New York, and spent many summers in Charleston. I remember my grandfather taking us to this tree, and I have fond childhood memories of it that will never go away! So much of Charleston’s natural beauty is being destroyed because of “progress” and the almighty dollar! Please help save this tree!!

Please, Please let this amazing oak live! I have never seen such a beautiful wise tree! I beg you to let her live!

Trees are so important to the planet and old trees have such a huge amount of healing resonance for everyone. We must save our trees for those children 7 generations into the future. Our integrity as a nation is reflected in how we care for the earth and how we provide for those yet unborn.

I lived on John’s Island from early age and attended St John’s High School but the childhood memories of climbing up on the Angel Oak seem like yesterday and that was over sixty years ago. God has given this wonderful tree and we should not take it away from future generations. There is a sweet peace there that only the Holy Spirit can bring.

Having been born in Charleston 10/1942 I remember visiting this tree many times as a small child. I have a photo ‘dwarfing’ my Dad’s 1953 Buick as it sits parked ‘under’ one of it’s extended limbs.

I am doing a tree report for this tree and I love reading all the facts about it, i love big oak trees. This website has not only helped me with my report, but it has also inspired me to do a painting of this magnificent tree. My mom is an artist and she has also inspired me. But anyways, I would like to help save this tree. I hope this tree can stay as long as possible.

My wife and have visited this magnificent tree several times while visiting our daughter in West Ashley. Words alone cannot express the beauty and power of this wonder of nature. I hope upon hope that efforts to stop development near this site are successful. No one regardless of wealth or fame could ever replace what mother nature has provided us to relax and reflect in her beauty and longevity. Long live the Angel Oak.

One of God’s creations! Simply Beautiful. Save the Angel Oak.

My father took me to see the angel tree when I was about 8yrs old. Now I am 44yrs old and I took my 4yr old and 10yr old girls to see it in 2011. I had not seen the tree since my fatherhad taken me and it is still so beautifull and breath taking. To see my girls being amazed like I was my first time and them knowing that their grandfather, who has passed away and they never met had taken me there when I was small was a special gift not only to them but to me also.

The first time I saw Angel Oak I was in the 2nd grade at Riverland Terrace Elementary School. My teacher took our class there on a field trip.The year had to have been around 1959. I remember it wasn’t that easy to get to but what a wonderful surprise when we finally arrived. I was so impressed I told my family all about it. My Dad asked if I could remember how to get to it.To the amazement of us all I did. It became a wonderful place for our family to go and to take out of town visitors. My dad was in the Navy at the time and he met 3 Vietnamese Sailors (navy students).They visited our home often and one place we took them was Angel Oak. Our family still has the photos. I am now 62yrs old and have lived many places in my lifetime.I have never seen Angel Oak again but have thought of it often. I just finished reading Angel Song by Shelia Walsh and the main character in the book went to Angel Oak. I actually cried with happy memories. I had to get on the computer to see if in fact it still exists. For a place that is filled with so much history as Charleston is how can they possibly think of getting rid of this wonderful and unique tree! I hope and pray God will save Angel Oak and I will see it again someday.