Angel Oak
National Register Listing
Street Address:
3688 Angel Oak Road, Johns Island, SC (Charleston County)
NRHP Nomination Form
Record Number:
S10817710213
Description and Narrative:
Angel Oak is a large, southern live oak tree located on the southwest side of Bohicket Road on Johns Island. The tree is the principal feature within Angel Oak Park, a 2.13-acre conservation area owned by the City of Charleston, and stands along a historic thoroughfare (today known as Angel Oak Road) that separates the park from postbellum tenant farms. Immediately surrounding Angel Oak within the park is a manicured clearing that accommodates benches and picnic tables beneath a canopy of scattered native black gum, sweet gum, and red maple trees. Significant features of the tree include its nearly nine-foot-diameter trunk, extensive canopy, and sweeping limbs. The exact age of the Angel Oak has been widely debated over the past century; however, recent studies have concluded that the Angel Oak is likely between 400 and 500 years old. Angel Oak is significant for its associations as a cultural and spiritual symbol among the Gullah people on Johns Island from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights Era. Local oral traditions related to the Angel Oak’s spiritual and social significance can be traced back at least to first generation freedmen. The tree also served as a well-known recreational site for Black students and has been an important tourism site on Johns Island since the 1920s. The tree remains a site of tourism and community gathering. Listed in the National Register May 21, 2026.
Period of Significance:
1865 – 1976
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Ethnic Heritage: Black;Social History;Entertainment/Recreation
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
2026-05-21
Date of Boundary Increase:
No Boundary Increase
Location:
Johns Island;Charleston County
