Live Oak Society. Records, 1929-2001, n.d.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains clippings, letters, photographs, notes, artifacts, registration book, bulletins, maps and organizational records.
The bulk of the collection was donated by Miss Willie Wynn White, daughter of the late H.H. White of Alexandria, Louisiana.
See also Coll. 297: Margaret Stephens Jochem Papers for more Live Oak Society materials.
Dates
- 1929-2001, n.d.
Creator
- White, Willie Wynn (Willie Wynn White) (Person)
- Stephens, Edwin Lewis, Dr. (Dr. Edwin Lewis Stephens), 1872-1938 (Person)
Biographical / Historical
The Live Oak Society was founded in 1935 by Dr. Edwin Lewis Stephens, Louisiana scholar, educator, and president of Southwestern Louisiana Institute. The society was intended to promote the culture, distribution and appreciation of the live oak tree. Membership in the Society was limited to individual live oaks known or suspected to be more than one hundred years old. Live oaks under one hundred years old were eligible for membership in the Junior League. Each member had an “attorney”, usually its owner, and the “attorney” paid the annual dues – twenty-five acorns. The president of the Society was the largest member. Initially this was the Locke Breaux Oak near Hahnville, LA. It was estimated to be over 500 years old. The society stopped functioning in 1938 after the death of Dr. Stephens. Meigs O. Frost publicized the Society’s revival in a Times-Picayune Sunday magazine article on 21 January 1945. Stanley C. Arthur, director of the Louisiana State Museum, took over leadership of the Society. He recorded 119 oak trees with their names, location, measurements, and sponsors as members. Membership is currently maintained by the Louisiana Garden Society.
Extent
.41667 Linear Feet (5 inches of material in one box.)
Language of Materials
English
- Title
- Live Oak Society Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Trenesha Bartley
- Date
- 10/26/2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collection Repository
Edith Garland Dupré Library
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
400 East St. Mary Blvd.
Lafayette LA 70503 United States
337-482-6031
speccoll@louisiana.edu