Giant Jennings oak receives national recognition
A swamp chestnut oak tree near Crothersville has been recognized as the largest of the species in the country by the National Champion Tree Program.
It’s on a family farm owned by Richard and Kris Schepman in Jennings County. On Tuesday, Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Indiana Department of Natural Resources leaders presented the Schepmans with a certificate to recognize their stewardship. because the tree is on private property, it is not available for public viewing.
It has a height of 95 feet, a circumference of 318 inches, and a canopy spread of 118 feet.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, the swamp chestnut oak is native to “the Atlantic Coastal Plain from New Jersey and extreme eastern Pennsylvania, south to north Florida, and west to east Texas; it is found north in the Mississippi River Valley to extreme southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and locally to southeast Kentucky and eastern Tennessee.”
The DNR Division of Forestry maintains a list of Indiana’s largest known tree of each of the state’s native species.
Photos: Gov. Mike Braun speaks to Richard Schepman under the branches of the nation’s largest swamp chestnut oak. Photos courtesy of Indiana DNR
Network Indiana contributed to this report
