Lanier's Oak is a historic

Southern live oak ''Quercus virginiana'', also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old South. ...

tree in Brunswick, Georgia. It is named after poet

Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...

History

was a Georgian poet active in the post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. Lanier visited Brunswick, Georgia several times in his life, spending time with his wife's family and attempting to alleviate health problems. In the 1870s, during such a visit, Lanier was inspired to write "

The Marshes of Glynn "The Marshes of Glynn" is one of Sidney Lanier's poems featured in ''Hymns of the Marshes'', an unfinished set of lyrical nature poems that describe the open salt marshes of Glynn County in coastal Georgia. While some believe the poem was writt ...

", considered one of his most well-known poems, while under the tree, looking out over the

marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

. In May 1932, a concrete and bronze marker was erected near the tree, with an inscription containing parts of "The Marshes of Glynn". As part of the unveiling ceremonies, the poem "

Trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...

" by

Joyce Kilmer Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection ''Trees and Other Poems'' in 1914. Though a prolific poet wh ...

was read aloud. In 1956, the

Georgia Historical Commission The Georgia Historical Commission was an organization created by the U.S. state of Georgia for purposes of historic preservation. The Georgia legislature created it in February 1951 to promote and increase knowledge and understanding of the hist ...

erected a

Georgia historical marker A Historic marker is an "Alamo"-shaped plaque affixed to the top of a pole and erected next to a significant historic site, battlefield or county courthouse. In the state of Georgia there are roughly 2,000 historic markers. Kevin Levin of the ...

near the tree, giving more context on the tree's significance. Around this same time, land reclamation projects in the area caused the surrounding marsh to recede far from the tree, and today the tree is located in the

median strip The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...

U.S. Route 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, wit ...

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Lanier's Oak Individual trees in Georgia (U.S. state) Individual oak trees Brunswick, Georgia Tourist attractions in Georgia (U.S. state)

History

See also

References

External links