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June 2026: Woody C. Guthtree
- TreesLexington Staff
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
The June Tree of the Month is the oldest cross-dated documented tree in Kentucky, and it lives in a corner of Fayette County. We know its age because its rings have been counted and their pattern of thick and thin rings matched to nearby trees of the same species.
It is so old that it has a name: Woody C. Guthtree, and a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/woody.guthtree/. The “C” stands for chinkapin because the tree is a chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii). This year it turned 415 years old.
Long before Daniel Boone set foot in the state, it was growing on a southwest-facing slope along Elk Lick Creek in what is now the Floracliff Nature Sanctuary, a 346-acre non-profit preserve that borders the Kentucky River.
The chinkapin, also spelled chinquapin, is a deciduous species of tree in the white oak group. It is native to eastern and central North America. The thing about Woody is that, for its age, it’s not what one would describe as “a mighty oak.” But sometimes appearances can be deceiving.
When Floracliff director Beverly James asked an Eastern Kentucky University professor named Neil Pederson to take core samples of chinkapins in 2008, he thought they might not be very old. When he cored and counted tree rings, he found 10 that dated from the 1600s (one dated to 1697 was lost last year) and four from the 1700s. Woody’s earliest ring was dated 1611.
“It was the one that knocked me in the head and made me think differently about things,” said Pederson, now a Massachusetts-based private contractor.
Seeing Woody in person will take planning. To preserve its delicate ecology, Floracliff is only open to guided walks. You can sign up for walks and other events here: https://www.floracliff.org/events/. The walks usually have a maximum of 15 to 20 people and fill up fast. Walks to Elk Lick Falls go near Woody, as do Golden Hour tours to the falls and some of the wildflower hikes. Most cost $10 to $15. During Tree Week, which this year is October 8 to 18, there usually is a sponsored walk specifically to see the old chinkapins. It is free.
What else was happening in the world the year Woody C. Guthtree became a tree?
· The first King James version of the Bible was published.
· Shakespeare’s play The Tempest had its debut.
· A mutiny left explorer Henry Hudson stranded in the icy waters of Hudson Bay.
· James Rolf imported tobacco seeds into Virginia.
Note: Two other trees in the Red River Gorge Geological Area – a tulip poplar and a yellow buckeye, have been cored by people who say they have more annual rings than Woody. But those trees were not cross-dated. And it is not known whether they still are standing.
For more information, go to:
by Andy Mead
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