Indiana Governor Braun with the property owner under the swamp chestnut oak tree.
(Photo provided, Indiana DNR)
In far southern Indiana, a swamp chestnut oak tree has been recognized as the largest of the species in the country by the National Champion Tree Program. The tree stands 95 feet tall, has a circumference of 26 ½ feet, and a canopy spread of 118 feet. The tree is on private property in Jennings County, just outside Crothersville. On Tuesday September 9, 2025, Indiana Governor Mike Braun and Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) leaders presented the land owners with a certificate recognizing their family’s stewardship of the tree.
“Over the last century, Indiana’s forested land has substantially grown as a result of Hoosiers’ conservation work and responsible stewardship,” said Governor Braun, adding the caretakers of the swamp chestnut oak tree and private landowners across the state “deserve high praise for their commitment to growing healthy trees like this giant in Jennings County, which I hope continues to stand tall for generations of future Hoosiers to enjoy.” The DNR Division of Forestry, which maintains a list of Indiana’s largest known tree of each of the state’s native species, notified the national program of the tree.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, the swamp chestnut oak is native to “the Atlantic Coastal Plain from New Jersey and extreme eastern Pennsylvania, south to north Florida, and west to east Texas; it is found north in the Mississippi River Valley to extreme southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and locally to southeast Kentucky and eastern Tennessee.” The tree is on private property and not available for public viewing. Indiana’s current state champion trees, which are updated when a notification of a larger tree is received, are posted at on.IN.gov/big-tree, where Hoosiers can also learn how to measure trees and enter those you think may qualify.
