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Health & Fitness

Looking for History in the Trees of Milton

I often look for clues to the history of a place by observing what is growing there.

I sometimes indulge in pleasure drives through Milton. Even with the development of recent years, we still have a tranquil landscape that is a pleasure to drive through, especially early on a Saturday morning when the sky is clear. 

When I drive the formerly rural roads of Milton I often wonder what the trees suggest about the history of this area. I’m not an arborist or a forester, but I’ve devoted some time to the preservation of trees in the community. And I know a little bit about the business of growing trees in order to take them down, as we are a family of tree farmers. So, when I drive down the highway or through the countryside, I see trees as history, as commodity and always as interesting.

Some of the best historical markers you will ever find are old homestead trees that grew right up next to houses and fairly close to the road. Milton still has a few old homesteads, but homestead trees often remain for many decades after the original home has collapsed or otherwise has disappeared. From what I’ve seen in Milton, a typical homestead tree might be water oak, southern red oak, post oak, or white oak and it will almost always look like the oldest tree around. 

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The Milton area, particularly around Crabapple, has more water oaks than I’ve seen anywhere else, although it is found throughout Georgia and the southeast. It is strangely missing from parts of east Tennessee, which explains why my friends from Tennessee ask about it and admire it when they visit. The habits of water oak give an interesting clue to the history of north Fulton. Because it is so intolerant of shade, the water oak tends to only grow to maturity on open, sunny land. This might suggest a land formerly dedicated to crops such as cotton or corn or open grazing pasture. And we know, in fact, that our area was once heavily farmed for cotton, back when cotton was King. However, water oaks are not tolerant of pollution. It will be interesting to see the effects of development on the water oaks of north Fulton.  

And then there are the beech trees, which I have not seen in abundance in our area. There is no sight more interesting in the winter landscape than a beech grove; the trees with their silvery, gray bark, the interesting contortions of the branches and the dry, paper-thin leaves still hanging on. It is, by far, my favorite tree. The American beech ranges all over the eastern United States and can grow in many situations, but is particularly adept at growing in the shade, as opposed to the water oak mentioned above, which wants to be in the open sun. Because of this, finding a grove of beech trees in our area might suggest that they have been there for a long time, perhaps as under-story trees to the more dominant oak and hickory, but possibly out in the open. It’s interesting to think about where the shady forests might have been; the trees that the farmers did not cut down and the saplings that the deer did not strip of leaves. Deer don’t like beech very much. 

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There are not many roads and towns named for trees up here in north Fulton, with the notable exception of Crabapple. Whether or not the town of Crabapple was named for this relative of the common apple tree, I cannot say. I do know that in my own yard here in Crabapple, I have three crabapple trees.

It’s fascinating to try and deduce the history of a place by what is growing there. A tree can grow to a ripe old age of several hundred years. It can influence plant and animal life around it as well as human activity and vice versa. Those old homesteads that once existed in north Fulton certainly may have been built first and the trees planted later. On the other hand, those old homesteads may have been sited because of the trees. Perhaps some fellow came along 150 years ago and said, “I think I’ll build my house over there near those fine, young oaks.” 

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