William Dunbar, a Scottish explorer, gave the earliest account of the Osage Orange Tree in 1804 as he traveled from St. Catherine’s Landing on the Mississippi River to the Ouachita River. The wood from the Osage Orange is a very dense, strong, flexible, durable wood that is used in the making of tool handles, fence posts, and any other products that require a stable wood that will not rot. The Native Americans used this wood for making their bows and would travel several hundred miles to find it. It was said a good Osage bow was” worth a horse and blanket”. This particular tree is located on the grounds of Old Fort Harrod State Park in Harrodsburg Kentucky. Fort Harrod is where James Harrod in 1714 established the first permanent settlement west of the Alleghenies in what is now Central Kentucky. The tree is circa late eighteenth century and is eighty-eight feet tall. The circumference of the tree standing is twelve feet and four inches and the diameter at breast height is fifty-six inches. It is taller and broader than the National Champion but remains the Unofficial National Champion due to the split trunk. |
