Old Survivor Redwood Tree, Oakland, California 2
"His name is Old Survivor. He's a redwood tree and he's old." - Gordon and Larry Laverty 1
The Old Survivor Redwood Tree is a City of Oakland Historic Landmark, designated on June 24, 1980. Purported to be the oldest and last remaining pre-contact redwood in the East Bay, it's located in Leona Heights Park.
There is a plaque in the parking lot of the Carl B. Munck Elementary (11900 Campus Drive) near Redwood Rd.. from which you can see the tree. The tree can also be seen from the York Trail. It's likely this tree was not logged because it's situated on a steep, rocky slope, and is not very large for its age. There is no trail to the base of this tree.
Rediscovery
This Aug 13, 1969 Oakland Tribune article (p. 28-A) describes the rediscovery of this tree by Oakland Parks Naturalist Paul Covel in what was then McCrea Memorial Park. A core ring count at the time by Glen Strouse at Humboldt State University put the tree's age at 415 - 429 years.
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Links and References
- Old Survivor by Gordon and Larry Laverty Macarthur Metro (via archive.org)
- Oakland California Landmarks
- Old Survivor -- short film by Stan Dodson
- Survivor Trees -- Oakland Geology blog post with photos from the tree's base plus historical plaque
