[3] The tree has been able to withstand human encroachment for centuries, and remains a major landmark in Thomasville today.

[4] In 1966, Mrs. Elisabeth Ireland Poe and the city of Thomasville, purchased the property and turned it into a public park.

After a unanimous decision by the Board to appropriate the funds, the Garden Center used the money to construct a lattice-work brick wall on two sides of the property.

"[7] The lot on which the Big Oak stands was dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Elisabeth Ireland Poe on February 7, 1982 by the city of Thomasville.

On a hunting visit to Thomasville with colleague George M. Humphrey, Dwight Eisenhower stopped by to take a photograph of the tree on his way to the airport.

Jack Hadley, Curator of Thomasville’s Black History Museum, believes that this is a completely unsubstantiated claim.

In a 2017 column in the local paper, Hadley said that in his 80+ years of living in and researching Thomasville that he had “never seen any proof, documentation and no one has provided me any documentation about the Big Oak Tree in downtown as a lynching tree.” [9] Various efforts have been made to preserve this magnificent landmark in Thomasville.

The various support cables are intertwined about the tree in order to provide strength to the limbs, some of which are mere feet above the ground.

The damage was minimal, however the driver of Ochlocknee, Georgia was charged by police for failure to stay on the city truck route.

According to Waymon Dekle, superintendent of parks and cemeteries, "When we find a diseased or damaged part it should be cut off or we could run the risk of losing the entire tree.

Many receptions for various community events are held in the gazebo, as well as Easter sunrise services, picnics, and school field trips.

During the fall of 2005, Mrs. Carol SIngletary, granddaughter of John Albert Chastain, collected over one hundred acorns and cared for them throughout the germination process.

Of the remaining seedlings from the original one hundred acorns, Mrs. Singletary gave them to relatives who share her history of the property.