The Senator Tree's Tale
Around 1925, a hurricane hit the central area of Florida and knocked about 40 feet off the "Senator Tree". In 1927, the owner of the Big Tree Park, Senator M.O. Overstreet died and donated the land to the city. The Overstreet family were prominent in the lumber and turpentine era and were major landowners. The donations from their family had an influence on the naming of this precious natural treasure. In 1929, President, Mr. Calvin Coolidge came down to Florida to visit "The Senator" and all the beauty around it. He was like a ant in the shade of the tree as it towered over him, but he praised it as a federal fortune.
About a century later in 2012, an unfortunate artificial blunder caused The Senator to meet its end due to a fire. This blunder reduced the once lush giant and magnificent tree to just a 20 foot tall stump. A year later in 2013, a genetic duplicate was set in place at a renovated Big Tree Park. A second clone grows at Reiter Park, Longwood, named "The Senator II". Our duplicate at Big Tree Park is named "The Phoenix", fittingly because a phoenix rises from the ashes just as "The Phoenix" shall rise from the remains of "The Senator".
The Senator Tree, nicknamed "The Big Tree," was a 3,500 year old bald cypress tree. It easily predated the Spanish, the Seminoles, and even Cristopher Columbus. The Senator was located in Big Tree Park, Longwood. "The Senator" stood with a faithful companion, as many call, "Lady Liberty", and she still stands today in Big Tree Park. Long ago, where the Senator Tree stood, the land was more lush with live oaks, pines, cypress trees, and more. The Senator stood so tall that it was visible from the coast of the St. John's River in Sanford (8 miles away). At this time, when tribes and indigenous people inhabited the land, "The Senator" served as a guide to trading grounds.
