Jack the Giant Tree Sculpture
Name of Tree: Jack the Giant Tree Sculpture
Project Designation: Reborn/Repurposed Tree
Location: 45th & Broadway, Galveston Island, Texas
Species: Live Oak Tree
Approximate Age: Unknown but approximately 80 years old before Hurricane Ike 2008 stopped its growth. But its new life as a sculpture started in 2011, making this tree in its new form at least 100 years old. Not old enough to have witnessed the Great Storm of 1900 in Galveston.
Condition: While this tree is considered “dead” with no active new growth since it was inundated in a flood of salt water from hurricane Ike in 2008, it has taken on a new life and new role within the community as a tree sculpture. As a sculpture the tree is stable, standing alone in a large open area and receives annual treatments to maintain its shine.
Story
On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston Island as a Category 4 storm—covering most of the island in 15 feet of saltwater, claiming at least 59 lives, causing $29 billion in damage, and destroying 40,000 trees.
In Galveston’s predominantly Black Historic East End, many of the surviving trees became Black Heritage Trees overnight. But instead of cutting down thousands of salt-choked oak trees and sending them to the landfill, the Galveston Island Tree Committee commissioned chainsaw artists to give these trees new life. With the city’s blessing, dozens of tree sculptures were created around Galveston in the wake of Hurricane Ike. But only 1 Black artist and Galveston native, chainsaw sculptor Earl Jones, brought these trees back to life by paying homage to Galveston’s Black History.
One of Earl Jones most famous tree sculptures is carved in honor of Arthur John “Jack” Johnson, nicknamed “The Galveston Giant,” who became the first Black Heavyweight Champion of the world in 1908. To create this sculpture Jones carved the wood of an 80-year-old oak tree that once shaded the Oaks neighborhood. Out of the trunk of the tree he carved Jack Johnson’s torso with his championship belt holding up his jeans, and out of the dead branches that once held a lush crown of leaves, he carved his arms lifted in victory with his trademark boxing gloves. This tree sculpture not only speaks to the power of one of Galveston’s brightest stars, but now serves as a symbol for the Black community in Galveston who continue to stand through all manner of storms. But his work also represents the trees left behind after the storm, flooded with salt water, cracked, with severely broken tree limbs, and yet not completely dead. They have been given a second chance and taken on a new form through the talent of a Black artist who decided to use trees as a way to share Black history.
Today, Galveston’s tree sculptures attract over 1.5 million visitors each year and remain part of one of the largest outdoor collections of oak tree art in the nation. Meanwhile, the Galveston Island Tree Conservancy has planted 23,000 new trees with the the goal of replanting all 40,000 trees lost in the storm—restoring life to a once-devastated canopy.
