Anyone referring to the state champion bur oak tree in the Missouri riverbottoms in McBaine as “just a tree” is probably asking for a fight. It’s basically the same thing as calling a family’s beloved pet “just a dog.”
The Big Bur Oak has earned a place of sacred respect for its size, longevity, history, and connections to multiple generations of Boone County and Missouri folks who have cooled off in its shade or made it the backdrop — or foreground — of countless photographs.
It’s not “just a tree.” The Big Bur Oak is nearly 400 years old. It stretches 90 feet high with a 130-foot spread and a 287-inch circumference, ranking it as the largest of its species in Missouri and tied for largest in the U.S. (Even suggesting it is tied with a big bur oak in Kentucky can invite unwanted ire from the tree’s protectors and admirers.)
The tree became an official Boone County Historic Site in August 2021, making it the only tree in the county to hold that designation. A plaque beneath the tree designates the tree as The Williamson Bur Oak Tree, a name so conferred to signify that the tree with a canopy that covers part of Bur Oak Road is on farmland owned by the John Sam Williamson family for six generations. The plaque further states, “The tree has achieved national and state recognition for its size and age, and has witnessed the entirely of our nation’s history and nearly four centuries of world history. It has become a beloved gathering place for residents and visitors seeking the comfort and solace of nature’s marvels.”
It’s not unreasonable to suggest that a day or two before the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery camped along the Missouri River at Rocheport in 1804, the famed explorers would have seen the sprawling bur oak. Local historian and master storyteller Gene Bauman has also noted that, given the tree’s age, the acorn that birthed the The Big Bur Oak would have dropped to the ground in about 1640, just 20 years after the Pilgrims landed. Bauman’s son, Steve, is the primary administrator of The Big Bur Oak Facebook page that now has more than 10,500 followers. (Find the page at facebook.com/groups/thebigburoak.)
That page is routinely blessed with photos from both amateur and professional “shooters,” capturing the big tree’s image and, we daresay, personality, in all manner of weather conditions, as part of picture-perfect nighttime celestial events, and as a marker of the passage of time. The tree has endured several lightning strikes, numerous floods — including the disastrous floods of 1993 and 1995 — and, unfortunately, vandalism. Despite the paved road that runs along its south side, the beloved tree remains as healthy as a nearly four-century old tree can be. The grand old tree also gets regular TLC from arborists who are determined to keep its admirers from unintentionally loving it to death.
The photographers, however, are the main sentries who protect and cherish the tree. We asked the Facebook group to consider submitting photos for this pictorial. Fifteen photographers responded, offering nearly 120 photos for our selection. We are grateful and pleased to present some in this feature as well as online.
