Center Garden Club One Wonder: Historic Square Pecan Tree

November 27, 2017 - It seems especially appropriate during this holiday season for Center Garden Club to pay homage to a relatively small pecan tree, a natural wonder, which stands in the center of town on the west lawn of the historic Shelby County Courthouse. Each November our pecan tree, like others across the South, showers our courthouse grounds with a generous crop of pecans, versatile nuts that have become a staple of holiday fare: cookies, cakes, pies, candies, soups and salads, cheese balls, and a multitude of other culinary delights. 

Pecan history says that certain American Indian tribes were the first to be aware of the pecan. In the late 1700’s President George Washington planted pecan trees at Mount Vernon. The trees were a gift from Thomas Jefferson, credited with making the pecan tree popular in the South. The pecan was made the official state tree of Texas by an act of the Thirty-sixth Legislature in regular session, 1919.

Our courthouse pecan tree over the past thirty-plus years has served us well spreading its green canopy in the summer and providing appetizing and nutritious nuts in the late fall for man and wildlife alike to enjoy. If you have not yet noticed this “One Wonder,” the Center Garden Club believes that when you do, you will be in for a treat both figuratively and literally.

Center Garden Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month, September through May. The public is welcomed. For more information, please contact Carolyn Bounds at 598-3414.