Nature
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In the early 1900s, when mature trees were widely believed impossible to transplant, retired English seaman Walter Whall proved otherwise and started San Antonio's first tree moving company. Using simple tools, he cleared dirt from around a tree's roots and lifted it from the ground with block and tackle, then transported trees throughout San Antonio on wagons pulled by mules while contending that avoiding telegraph and power lines was the hardest part of the work. This Live Oak was about forty years old when Whall brought it to the Alamo in 1913, and its base now measures twelve feet in circumference while its branches spread over fifty feet.
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San Antonio, Texas · United States
