Ross County — The monthly event for the local “America 250” commemorations focused on sports, but also involved planting one tree…and admiring another one far older than the nation.
The second Saturday event on September 12th, 2026, started with the presentation “Ohio Plays: Sports & Wellness” at VA Memorial Stadium by Dr. Chris Hanners – owner of the Chillicothe Paints baseball team who play there.
Afterward was a “Ross County Heritage Tree Dedication” where a ball-and-burlap Swamp White Oak at least 15 feet tall was ceremonially planted in the “Healing Garden” at the Mace House above the VA golf course.
I arrived a little late for the ceremony, but caught most of it on video – with Terressa Reep speaking about trees being literal communication posts in the Revolution, especially the famous “Liberty Tree.”
While participating, the manager of the Forest E. Everhart Memorial Golf Course, Randy Post, mentioned that there is an Ohio National Champion Tree amid the holes of the green. He said the hybrid Burr-Pin Oak has been estimated to be 450 years old, and the trunk is about 19 feet in circumference. Attendees rode golf carts to visit it, which I also videorecorded.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources lists it as a “Bebb Oak” (Quercus x bebbiana):
- Circumference: 237
- Height: 81
- Crown: 119
- Total Points: 347
ODNR’s list of national champions states “since 1940, American Forests (a conservation organization based in Washington, D.C.) has documented the largest known specimens of every native and naturalized tree in the United States. Ohio is currently home to 14 National Champion Trees on the Champion Trees registry.” (One other national champion in Ross County is an American Basswood in Grandview Cemetery.)
In my preview interview with Terressa Reep, who has led the America 250 events for the local Daughters of the American Revolution, she explained the September 12th event as well as events for the rest of the year – and for Friends of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, which she also leads.
In the below videos, hear from Reep, watch the tree planting, and take a golf cart drive down to the National Champion.
Search the Scioto Post for past events for America 250, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Sons of the American Revolution. “America 250 Ross County” has a Facebook page, and a page hosted by the Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau.
