The picture is deceptive, but this mighty old
tree has been there far longer than Deer Grove has been a Forest Preserve
(1915). It measured exactly 9 feet in circumference in 1999 and has the remains
of some loving young couple's initials on its trunk, probably carved into it
when it was just a smooth-barked sapling.
It open-grown branch structure shows that there was much less brush and small
trees around it for most of its life.