Big Oak Tree State Park
state park in Missouri, United States
Big Oak Tree State Park is a state-owned nature preserve with recreational features encompassing 1,029 acres (416 ha) in East Prairie, Missouri, United States. The state park was established in a large expanse of drained cropland in 1938 to protect some of the largest trees in the state and in the nation. The park was declared a National Natural Landmark in May 1986, recognized as a rare, untouched wet-mesic bottomland hardwood forest in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain.
List of champion trees
Big Oak Tree State Park is the home of many current and past state and national champion trees—trees that are, for their species, the largest in the state or in the nation.
Activities and amenities
The park has two trails for hiking through the forest, including an accessible boardwalk trail, plus an interpretive center along the boardwalk and picnicking facilities.
The public source identifies “Big Oak Tree State Park” as state park in Missouri, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Tree, State and Park.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Big Oak Tree State Park”, the useful work is to connect “state park in Missouri, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3364023. Authority coordinates are 36.655, -89.328. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1938 and 1986.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Big Oak Tree State Park”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Big Oak Tree State Park primary sources, Big Oak Tree State Park archive and Tree research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Big Oak Tree State Park” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.