Skip to Content

  • Sign up for exclusive savings and news from Sea Island, delivered directly to your inbox.

  • oak trees with landscape

Planting of the Oaks

  • President Calvin Coolidge

    December 1928

    President Calvin Coolidge planted the first commemorative oak during the Christmas holidays shortly after The Cloister opened its doors.

    President Calvin Coolidge planting oak trees

  • President Dwight Eisenhower

    May 1946

    This oak was planted after President Eisenhower was elected, in honor of the visit he and Mrs. Eisenhower made to Sea Island in 1946.

    the eisenhower oak presidential tree on the grounds of sea island

  • Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard

    April 1952

    Queen Juliana and her husband Prince Bernhard spent Easter weekend on Sea Island and added an oak to the grounds.

  • President Jimmy Carter

    July 1981

    President Carter assembled his first cabinet at The Cloister shortly after being elected in 1976. Accompanied by Mrs. Carter, he returned to plant an oak in July 1981.

  • President George H.W. Bush

    September 1991

    President Bush planted a commemorative oak while he and Mrs. Bush were vacationing in 1991 at The Cloister, site of their 1945 honeymoon.

  • Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

    April 1994

    Mrs. Thatcher planted an oak while visiting as a guest speaker.

  • President George W. Bush

    June 2004

    During the G8 Summit he hosted on Sea Island, President Bush planted a commemorative oak close to his father’s.

  • Prime Minister Tony Blair

    June 2004

    The British Prime Minister and his wife planted a commemorative oak during their visit for the G8 Summit.

  • President Bill Clinton

    August 2012

    President Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, planted an oak during a visit to Sea Island to play golf.