PhotoHunt: TWISTED

This is the Candler Oak, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, living oak trees in the city of Savannah, Georgia. Its roots are embedded on a property that has been a center of healing for many residents of the city, having had neighbors like the seaman's hospital which operated from 1803 to 1818 and the Savannah Poor House and Hospital which served the population from 1819 to 1854 until it became the headquarters of Medical College of Georgia. During the American Civil War, the hospital was used by opposing forces for the care of their wounded soldiers who recuperated under its gnarly but welcoming branches. In 1930, the William A. Candler
Hospital became its neighbor, which operated for a good fifty years.

Years of exposure to the elements and the ravages of human development threatened to hasten the decline of this magnificent oak tree. Timely intervention from institutions like the Savannah Tree Foundation made it possible for me to see the Candler Oak some 200-plus years after it first sprouted from the ground.

Rightfully so, the Candler Oak was designated a Georgia Landmark and Historic Tree by the Georgia Urban Forest Council in 2001.

Savannah, Georgia, May 2008, using a digicam.