The Hollow Tree
On the western side of the Okefenokee in the Stephen C. Foster National Wildlife Refuge within Billy’s Lake, lives the Hollow Tree. It’s an old cypress that is estimated to be nearly 1,000 years in age. And, it has a huge open hole in the center, hence its name. They call this “heart rot,” and from what I understand it stems from a type of fungus that slowly eats the heartwood of the tree. In the case of this old cypress, the issue has more than likely been going on for many, many years.
The surface of the tree is rough and its phloem is bleached and gray in color like you’d see on the plywood of an abandoned farmhouse standing alone, baking in the open sun.
This senior tree stands in quiet fortitude as motor boats, kayakers and canoeists slip by on a daily basis. It has nothing to say. But the Hollow Tree stands as witness to a time when enormous trees of great size and magnitude covered our country. Virgin forests we can only imagine today.
And still it is quiet. Only the breeze blowing through the upper most needles whistle…or is that really the tree crying for all that it has seen.
Think about the age on this tree. It is truly an elder and there are no land creatures that can live to be so old. Only in the ocean, certain types of corals and sponges live beyond this milestone.
When this tree was a small sapling the Song dynasty of China was inventing paper in the early part of the 11th century. It was also during this time, thanks to the Chinese, that movable type was invented, thus ushering the way for printing and mass communication. By the end of this century, the first clocks were constructed and used.
About 100 years later, long after all of these brilliant scientists and inventors had passed away in the 12th century, this tree was probably standing upwards of 20 feet high. Its branches were adorned with bright green leaves where anhingas, egrets and herons perched as Native Americans hunted for game below. During this century there were many wars and sieges throughout Europe and the Middle East as countries grew and leaders conquered. Yet, here in the Okefenokee it was quiet and peaceful. Afternoon storms lit up the sky with lightning. Rain poured and cicadas whined.
By the 13th Century, the Romans had invented the Julian calendar and Roman numerals were being used. Europe moved into the heart of the High Middle Ages, characterized by rapid legal, cultural, and religious metamorphosis as well as economic dynamism. In North America and the Southeast in particular, Mississippian cultures thrived and settled near plentiful places of food and water, such as the Okefenokee. More than likely, this tree was surrounded by many other mature cypresses, all competing for light and providing shade for Native American communities. Storms with lightning created vast fires which burned and destroyed many of the trees, but the Hollow Tree kept living.
Disease ravaged Europe with what was known as The Black Death during the 14th Century. England and France were at each others throats during the Hundred Year War. The 1300s marked the beginning of The Little Ice Age which brought cooler temperatures and shorter growing seasons for crops. But this more than likely didn’t have any affect on the Hollow Tree. By now the silent giant would be about 400 years old and would be at its mature height of 80 feet tall.
The next century, the 1400s, meant European explorers like Christopher Columbus would venture to the West Indies along with Central and South America. The Spanish ravaged the native cultures not only spreading violence, imposing their culture and religion, but also disease.
Conquests in the New World made Spain very rich and powerful. Gutenberg invented the printing press and mass production of books spread knowledge and entertainment. Also in this century, heroine Joan of Arc was captured and eventually executed for heresy. None of these events mattered to the Okefenokee Swamp and the Hollow Tree. The cycles of the earth continued. Seasons of drought, followed by fire, followed by rain repeated as time marched forward.
In Europe during the next century, the scientific revolution is said to have begun. German reformist, Martin Luther published “ninety-five theses” in 1517 marking the change across the continent.
This century meant a rush to explore throughout the world. Territory and resources were critical to growing countries and now, on the same continent as the Okefenokee, a mighty battle called the Spanish-Aztec war decimated the native peoples in modern day Mexico. Spain continued their attacks on native peoples, wiping out the Inca in 1572. Back inEurope moved into the heart of the High Middle Ages, characterized by rapid legal, cultural, and religious metamorphosis as well as economic dynamism. In North America and the Southeast in particular, Mississippian cultures thrived and settled near plentiful places of food and water, such as the Okefenokee. More than likely, this tree was surrounded by many other mature cypresses, all competing for light and providing shade for Native American communities. Storms with lightning created vast fires which burned and destroyed many of the trees, but the Hollow Tree kept living.
Until the 1600s, the Okefenokee was inhabited only by indigenous tribes. But after 1620, there were Spanish missions nearby and a transformation in the area was beginning. New ideas, plants, animals and technologies were brought to the Americas changing the world of native peoples forever. Now, canoes with Spanish settlers looking for food, paddled up Billy’s Lake. The Hollow Tree stood silently watching as the once quiet paradise began to change.
Florida had been in flux with colonists since the 1500s. Battles between the Spanish, French and English were brutal and the natural silence of the swamp was pierced by cannon fire and muskets in the distance. By the late 1700s, colonists were demanding their freedom and war with the British ensued.
At this age, the tree was a grand old elder within the swamp, but more than likely there were many others with this status nearby. It is hard to imagine now, but during this time in history, the North American continent was saturated with old-growth forests. Giant trees of massive girths which had been able to grow to maturity in a land before axes and saws.
The 1800s brought severe change to the Okefenokee. After the land lottery of 1820, settlers moved in around the swamp. They brought domesticated animals and began farming the area. In the late 1830s the Second Seminole War happened in Florida and stretched into the Okefenokee. This brought forts and soldiers to the land around the refuge. The native peoples were no match for the firepower of the troops. Soon, all the Seminole people were gone.
By the 1850s, a few families were living on some of the islands within the Okefenokee. Cracks of muskets could now be heard as hunters bagged deer and other game. All the sounds of civilization were now encroaching on the swamp.
The vastness of the Okefenokee meant it was a good place to hide. Escaped slaves spent time living here. And later, during the Civil War, deserters took refuge here. European influence had shaped much of the country around the refuge, but until steam transportation took hold, the Okefenokee looked about the same as it had when the Hollow Tree was just a seedling.
In the latter part of the 1800s, steam power and the Industrial Age would scar the once pristine landscape forever. It’s hard to believe that Georgia once had Bison, Mountain Lion, Wolves and other predators. But, like the native peoples, they were eradicated as the population of settlers grew. As this was happening, the old growth trees in and around the swamp were also victims.
By the early 1900s the Hollow Tree was probably standing alone in a vast area of stumps. Progress as it is known in our world brought the axe and saw to this land. Vast forests of mammoth trees, thousands of years old were felled and sent to mills for processing. Original plans were to have the swamp drained and make the land suitable or farming. Canals were created and small communities grew up on surrounding islands. In the early morning, when the mist hangs just a few feet above the surface of the water, it was probably tainted with the smell of wood smoke. Barking dogs could be heard in the distance along with workers harvesting trees. More than likely, the major imperfection with the Hollow Tree is what saved it from the mill. Being hollow, it would not have been worth the effort and time to harvest. So, it was spared.
One by one others came down and the forests became prairie, not just in the Okefenokee, but across the country. Other species would also perish. A bird known at the passenger pigeon, once so numerous that they blackened the sky with their migrations, many probably wintering in the Okefenokee, were wiped out by overhunting and loss of habitat - destruction of forests.
The last bird died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. Her name was Martha and like the great, virgin tree forests, she was the last of her kind. Eradicated by the hand of man.
Thankfully, the idea of draining the Okefenokee for farmland failed. But, in the latter part of the same century another developer decided an amusement park would be perfect for weary northerners looking for a sunny escape. Thankfully, that never happened, either. Orlando became that place and in the Okefenokee, new trees began to grow in the openings where giants had fallen.
Today, the Hollow Tree is loved and admired for its ability to survive against the odds. Visitors use it as a reference. A marker for the spot where you turn to paddle to Minnie’s Lake. It’s a great tree to visit and one which will hopefully last many more centuries.
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