UPDATE: The Encino Oak Tree Stump Is a Celebrated Local Monument

UPDATE Apr. 30: Thank you all, Encino Patch readers, for your comments and thoughts on the photo we posted of a local landmark.

As many of you correctly answered, the photo is of the Encino oak tree stump on Louise, just south of Ventura. The tree was designated a historic cultural monument by the city of Los Angeles in 1963.

The oak tree's rings show that it is approximately 1,000 years old. Click on the new photo gallery to view the historical events that occurred during the tree's long life.

Michael Crosby, local historian, Los Encinos docent and author writes about the tree in his book Encino: Portraits of America. According to Crosby, the tree was in a weakened state in the 1990s and finally toppled in a storm on February 7, 1998. Encino is named, writes Crosby, for the Spanish work for "oak," and the Encino oak tree's image is used on the Chamber of Commerce's logo.

One Patch reader wrote in to tell readers that, when the oak was designated a cultural monument, a special ceremony was held at the oak, during which time the following poem was read aloud to the assembled crowd.

"Trees" by Joyce Kilmer:

I think that I shall never see

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Encino Patch readers know their local history. Last month, perched high above Encino streets, and many of you came forward with the answer within minutes!

which readers correctly identified as that can be found dotted throughout the Valley.

So here's another local history question for you: Can you identify the Encino landmark pictured above, photographed by Patch on a sunny morning this week? Where is it located? Do you know its history?

Let us know by leaving a comment in the box below, and bookmark this page to come back for updates!

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