Ohio Champion

The largest shagbark hickory currently known in Ohio stood in Goll Woods. The Division of Forestry champion tree registry scored trees by trunk circumference, height, and crown spread, and in 2014 this tree measured 107 inches in circumference, 116 feet tall, and had a 47-foot crown spread. Hickory wood is exceptionally tough, heavy, and strong, and is commonly used in flooring, tool handles, furniture, and traditionally for wagon wheels. It also burns very hot and has the highest BTU rating of any eastern hardwood, making it an excellent firewood. That commercial value, combined with shagbark hickory's naturally slow growth, has left few really large trees standing today. Shagbark hickory trees are an important forest component for many wildlife species, as black bears, foxes, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, and a number of birds eat the nuts each fall, the leaves host numerous moth and butterfly species, and some animals such as Indiana bats live in crevices beneath the loose bark. Goll Woods is also home to the state champion Rock Elm, Ulmus thomasii.

Ohio · United States