| The vast forest of early Shelby County is almost entirely gone, replaced by cultivated
fields and second-growth woodlots. But, remnants of the old growth remain, showing us what
Shelby County settlers faced as they cut
their way into the local wilderness. The Gross Woods, located several miles east of
Botkins, gives modern Shelby Countians a feel for the ancient forest once blanketing our
area, including the feel of swarming, biting mosquitoes,
the bane of early settlers.
A sign at the entrance to the woods notes that it "stands
today as one of the last vestiges of Ohio before the white man’s arrival. Although
farming during a time when Shelby County was being rapidly changed from forest to field,
Samuel Gross refused to clear this 40-acre plot." The higher ground of Gross
woods is dominated by red oak and beech with sugar maple in the understory. Burr oak and
basswood appear in the lower and wetter areas.
Another woods southwest of Botkins boasts a burr oak growing long before Shelby County
was settled. At more than 17 feet in circumference at stump height, it is reputed to be
the largest such tree east of the Mississippi. This Shelby County pioneer stands on the
Alfred Prenger farm in McLean Township and may be close to 300 years old, a mature tree
even before the French and Indian Wars raged through this area. "The tree has incredible quality," notes Jim
Bartlett, forester with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
"Although a minor lightning strike has caused some die-back and made it
stag-headed, the tree has huge dimensions and the trunk is very straight with no lean. The
trunk goes up to 38 feet before the first limb. So there’s probably close to 6,000
board feet of lumber there," according to Bartlett. He estimates the tree to be
close to 95 feet tall. |
Society members Roger
Lentz, John Richards and Katie Lentz recently inspected the Prenger burr oak in McLean
Township. |
