Last time we explored the possibility of an animal or object having special legal rights, we ended up lost in a maze full of Sulawesi macaques and copyright lawsuits. Today we come across something even stranger: the Tree That Owns Itself. Where did it come from? Basically, we have to travel almost 200 years back in time, learn about a famous political family in the state of Georgia, and a deed that no one ever saw, but everyone talks about...
If we think about it for a moment, it doesn't seem so far-fetched, right? After all, some people have declared their pets as sole heirs, leaving millions of dollars in the bank at their disposal, and if memory serves me, a cat was mayor of a small town in Alaska. That means the Tree That Owns Itself deserves our attention. Unfortunately, it's impossible to know exactly who planted it or how old it was, and the best estimates have a margin of error of 200 years (between the mid-16th century and the late 18th century). However, there are well-documented details. On one hand, we know the tree is a white oak located in the city of Athens (state of Georgia), and on the other, the story revolves around a certain William Henry Jackson.
The Deed That Made a Tree an Owner
The oldest reference to the Tree That Owns Itself belongs to an article published in the Athens Weekly Banner on August 12, 1890. The text explains that the tree was on the property of Colonel William Henry Jackson (also known as a doctor for his professorship at the University of Georgia), son of James Jackson, who was a soldier, congressman, senator, and later governor of Georgia. Apparently, W.H. Jackson had very good memories of his childhood near that tree, and with the intention of protecting it, he created a supposed deed in which he registers the tree as the owner of itself and of the nearby land (8 feet, 2.4 meters) around it. Several sources, including a plaque placed near the tree, suggest the transaction took place at some point between 1820 and 1832.
The rest is a haze of pure doubt. Although Colonel Jackson did indeed live across the street from where the tree was, the old lot division doesn't quite match (he lived in Lot 14, and the tree was in Lot 15), and it's said he spent his childhood in Jefferson County and not in Athens, so perhaps it wasn't even the tree he remembered. In fact, the tree we can find there now is not the original, which fell on October 9, 1942, after a long deterioration. Luckily, several residents had planted new trees from its acorns. The transplant process (after choosing the most suitable candidate) was organized by the Junior Ladies Garden Club, the College of Agriculture, and the Department of Horticulture of the University of Georgia on December 4, 1946, and today it is known as the Son of the Tree That Owns Itself. Technically, Jackson's original deed has no value (the recipient must have the legal capacity to receive the property 'and' accept it), and the authorities maintain it just like any other public tree, but beyond that conflict, people recognize the tree as the owner of itself.
