Kile Oak

Habitat Garden

http://www.vineandbranch.net/2009PDF/pressrelease-onemightyoak022009.pdf

 

Wildlife Habitat Garden in an Urban Setting

Arborists have estimated the Kile Oak, 5939 Beechwood Avenue, to be between 300 and 400 years old.  Thus, if an acorn from the Bur Oak, (Quercus macrocarpa) sprouted 300 years ago (1710), Indiana was then claimed by the  French and occupied by fur trappers, elk, bison, black bears and mountain lions. If it rooted in 1610; 400 hundred years ago, the Dutch had established their first colony on Manhattan Island and in the Jamestown, Virginia, settlement over ninety percent of the settlers where starving to death. 

Centuries later Oliver Kile, a retired minister from Ohio, settled in Irvington in 1901 and built a house beneath the tree.  He raised his family there and upon his death his funeral services were conducted there.  One of his daughters, Mae, continued to live there for seventy one years and until her admission to a nursing home she kept a visitor "guest" book.

Several years ago the Irvington Garden Club erected a white fence, now painted green, in front of the property and in 2004 registered the site as a "habitat garden"in accordance with the guidelines of the National Wildlife Federation.

Since then, members of the Historic Irvington Landmark Association and garden club members have cleared invasive plants, constructed a path complete with a  seating area planted sixty species of Indiana native plants including cinnamon and ostrich ferns and shade land flowers including Virginia blue bells, ginger, may apples, celandine poppies, Solomon's seal, and trilliums. 

Additionally, the open-to-the-sun "glade-like" area of the garden has been planted with New England aster, purple coneflower, cup plant, butterfly weed, golden rod, and other wildflowers.  Elderberry, service berry, viburnum, and spicebush shrubs have added to the garden as have dogwoods. 

Considering the age and history of the Kile Oak, visitors to the garden are ask to respect this "treasured" Irvington landmark and neither leave any thing behind nor destroy or dig up plants.

The Kile Oak and habitat garden are the property of  Historic Irvington Historic Foundation, 312 South Downey Avenue, and is open to the public from dawn to dusk. Tours may be scheduled by calling property's site supervisor at 359-3231.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Irvington Garden Club