The old White Oak (Quercus alba) stands on the Old Walton Road, one of only two known roads in Middle Tennessee that 19th century pioneers used as wagon roads (the other road was the Chattanooga-McMinnville Road). The Old Walton Road ran between Brotherton and Buck Mountain and became part of the Trail of Tears route in 1830.

According to local legend a full blooded Cherokee woman, Frances Hammock, escaped from the soldiers after her wagon broke down and she hid in a cave nearby. She later married Isaac Swallows and made their home in Brotherton. Their union would result in hundreds of descendants in the Upper Cumberlands, many of them who live there today.

The tree also became a regular resting site for the famous Willis Hyder, one of the last US mail horseback carriers, and was featured in a 1947 Nashville Tennessean article. Mr. Hyder and his horses carried the mail on his 26 mile route from 1908 until his retirement in the early 1950’s.

Nominated by Rebecca Gay Lane & Patrick Haller. Entered into the Landmark & Historic Tree Register in 2008 as a Landmark Tree.