Our followers voted and The Tree that Owns Itself is ArborNote’s Tree of the Year! It’s a White Oak (Quercus alba). The tree is at the corner of South Finley and Dearing Streets in Athens, Georgia, US and, according to legend, has legal ownership of itself and of all land within eight feet of its base. The earliest-known telling of the tree’s story comes from “Deeded to Itself”, a front-page article in the Athens Weekly Banner on August 12, 1890. The article explains that the tree had been located on the property of Colonel William Henry Jackson. Jackson supposedly cherished childhood memories of the tree, and, desiring to protect it, deeded to it the ownership of itself and its surrounding land. According to city-county officials, the local government and the owners of the adjacent property jointly serve as “stewards” for the care of the tree. Athens’ Junior Ladies’ Garden Club serves as its “primary advocate”. Regarding Jackson’s deed, one writer noted at the beginning of the 20th century, “However defective this title may be in law, the public recognized it.” In that spirit, it is the stated position of the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government that the tree, in spite of the law, does indeed own itself. Although it pays no property taxes!