NAA/ISA Bicentennial Commemoration Plaque - Palo Alto, CA
N 37° 26.836 W 122° 10.209
10S E 573402 N 4144814
This commemorative plaque recognizes a very significant and historical tree in Palo Alto.
Waymark Code: WMNDVX
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 02/23/2015
Views: 6
Located within El Palo Alto Park is a very historical and significant tree known as
El Palo Alto which means
the tall stick in Spanish and for which the city of Palo Alto derived its name. There are two historical markers located near the base of this prominent coastal redwood tree that recognize this tree as being witness to some major events in our country. One of the plaques reads:
1787 THE NATIONAL 1987
ARBORIST ASSOCIATION
AND
THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
OF ARBORICULTURE
JOINTLY RECOGNIZE THIS
SIGNIFICANT TREE IN THIS
BICENTENNIAL YEAR AS
HAVING LIVED HERE AT THE
TIME OF THE SIGNING OF
OUR CONSTITUTION |
Some interesting facts about this significant tree:
This historical tree currently stands at 110 feet in height, 68% of its original height of 162.2 feet, due to pollution from the trains that pass by this tree as well as the lowering of the water table. This tree was used as a sighting tree for surveyors when El Camino Real (Blvd) was plotted out. This tree is a living National Geodetic Survey benchmark (possibly the only one in the state of California) and visitors can log a visit for this benchmark tree here on the Geocaching.com website.
This tree stands on the banks of San Francisquito Creek and originally had two trunks but one trunk was lost in an 1886 flood and windstorm.
The other historical plaque was placed by the Native Sons of the Golden West in 1926 to note the historical significance of this magnificent tree and reads:
Under this giant redwood, the Palo Alto, November 6–11, 1769, camped Portola and his band on the expedition that discovered San Francisco Bay, this was the assembling point for their reconnoitering parties. Here in 1774 Padre Palou erected a cross to mark the site of a proposed mission. The celebrated Pedro Font topographical map of 1776 contained the drawing of the original double trunked tree making the Palo Alto the first official living California landmark.
In the 1990s, conversationalists installed a metal pipe up its trunk in order to provide water to the top. Today, El Palo Alto enjoys better health compared to 100 years ago.
This historic tree can be visited by a paved trail accessed from either Palo Alto Avenue from the East or Alma Street from the west. This historical site is a must-see stop for visitors to Palo Alto.