Live oaks are often claimed to be hundreds of years old, but although they can grow 25 feet in the first 20 years, they are seldom more than 250 years old. A 1910 photo of the Sugar Mill shows live oaks at this location on the left side of the photo behind the building, and because the oaks appear to be about 25 feet tall, they are presumed to be around 125 years old now. This estimate matches the land use of the site in the 1800s, when cotton was planted during the Spring Garden Plantation period from the early 1800s to the 1860s, and when George Norris later had extensive citrus groves on the property from 1872 to around 1900. The oaks probably began growing just before the turn of the 20th century.