The Oldest Tree in Mississauga
Although there might be an older tree in town, the white oak tree growing just off Clarkson Road North is likely the most ancient. Indeed, it is so old that it was designated as a Provincial Park!
According to various sources, the typical lifespan of this particular type of white oak can be up to 300 years, although in exceptional circumstances it can even reach 600 years. Our Clarkson specimen is somewhere between 200 and 300 years old; in other words, it was a sapling somewhere between 1720 and 1820.
The tree has out-lasted many things in Mississauga. It has been a silent witness to the growth of what was previously called Clarkson’s Corners (1807), an area noted at one time for being the “Strawberry Capital” of Canada. Our white oak would also have been there at the arrival of the railway in 1855.
White oaks can reach a height of 35 meters, although the average is between 20 and 30. The diameter varies anywhere between 50 and 120 centimeters.
In addition to the beauty of the tree itself, its wood can be quite valuable. Unlike many other types of trees, white oak wood is essentially waterproof, making it ideal for use in shipbuilding, barrel making, and other applications where water resistance is essential.
There are two type of oaks commonly found in Ontario: the red oak and the white oak. The white oak can be readily identified by its rougher bark, unlike the smoother red.
The white oak sheds acorns, and anyone who has such a tree on their property can attest to the abundance it can shed, with the cracking sound of acorns falling on their roof, driveway, and cars. The acorns were once an important source of food for the local indigenous population as well as the early settlers. The ground kernels would be added to soups or roasted in hot coals and then peeled to be eaten as a snack. These kernels are rich in tannins, which can make them quite bitter, but there are many techniques (most involving boiling in several changes of water) to remove that unpleasant taste. Acorns from the red oak are virtually inedible, as their bitterness cannot be removed.
Not only are acorns useful to us, they are a significant food source for ducks, white-tailed deer, squirrels, chipmunks, shrews, and blue jays.
Our glorious white oak tree is a part of Mississauga’s history as much as any man-made object and is certainly one of the oldest treasures of the City’s heritage.
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