100 Year Old Compton Oak Move Successful In League City
The Ghirardi Compton Oak has been a piece of League City’s history for over 100 years. The tree stands 56 feet tall, has a canopy that is over 100 feet wide, and is 135 inches around. It also weighs an incredible 518,000 pounds. A county road widening project put the future of the Ghirardi Oak in jeopardy. Council voted to use park dedication funds to hire Hess Landscaping Construction to move the majestic oak. A project that took them just under a month to complete. Watch the incredible process from start to finish in this video.
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On March 22, 2014 the City of League City held an opening ceremony for the new Ghirardi WaterSmart Park. The Ghirardi WaterSmart Park is a three acre passive park which is dedicated to teaching citizens ways to conserve their water use at home. It consists of community garden areas, native planting displays, a rain garden, a theater area as an outdoor classroom as well, a small nature play area, park and maintenance buildings, picnic area, decomposed granite trails, wooden boardwalks and footbridges interpretive signage, green roof kiosk and water cistern. The park was built around the previously relocated and internationally famous Ghirardi Oak. See photos from the grand opening here: