The Omar Bradley Oak
It’s traditional to name oak trees after generals and this one in Adams County, Pennsylvania was named by our neighbors the Omar Bradley Oak. Omar Bradley (February 12, 1893 – April 8, 1981) was nicknamed ‘The G.I’s General’ and was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We have accepted that name, although it is not in any way official, of course. I doubt anyone but us knows anything about the tree, much less that it bears that name.
It’s an old tree, probably at least 250 years old, but possibly older. The tree has a circumference of 13 feet 4 inches, or 160 inches (measured two years ago in 2024). That makes the diameter 50.93 inches. Multiplying that by a growth factor of 5, the age comes out to 255 years, meaning that the tree started growing around 1769, just before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
We’ve talked about building a stone bench near the tree and creating a little grove. I’ve recently planted some (native) ferns in the area, as well.