Algernourne Oak

The Algernourne Oak is the oldest of live oak trees at Fort Monroe and is about 500 years old.

NPS Photo / Aaron Firth

Quick Facts

Location:

Fort Monroe, Va.

Significance:

Part of Fort Monroe National Monument

MANAGED BY:

Fort Monroe Authority

Amenities

3 listed

Cellular Signal, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Wheelchair Accessible

The Algernourne Oak has firm roots in the American past. The impressive live oak tree stands on the eastern end of Fort Monroe’s parade ground. It is about 500 years old. It sprouted when Kecoughtan people foraged and fished at Old Point Comfort. It survived landscape-changing storms. It saw the arrival of the first English colonists, then the first enslaved Africans. It stood as Great Britain threatened American independence. The US Army built its largest stone fort around it. Men and women men sought freedom from slavery by it. The Algernourne Oak became part of Fort Monroe National Monument in 2011. This storied resident of Fort Monroe still watches as American history unfolds.