(The Henry Oak is located at 3648 LA Hwy. 1, just about 1/4 mile from downtown Raceland on the west side of Hwy. 1– It’s hard to miss. It grows near the property line between two private homes.)

The Henry Oak is registered with the Live Oak Society (#7715) by Madelyn and Victor Tedesco and Robert R. Thibodaux. The tree measured 31 feet 4 inches when registered. According to Madelyn Tedesco, the old oak is named after her father, Henry Boudreaux. Her family lived in the home (to the left and behind the oak) for many years and her father was an amateur gardener with a bit of a green thumb. She said he would often bring home plants and cuttings of plants, replant them in his yard or garden, and they always grew.  Madelyn and her husband registered the oak to honor Henry and his green thumb.

The Henry Oak has the largest girth of any of the other oaks on the Bayou Lafourche Live Oak Tour and is probably between 300 and 500 years of age. It was a mature oak before the first French settlers made their way south down the bayou to the area that would become Raceland.

The Lafourche Live Oak Tour was created through the generous support of Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou Tourism. For more information on Lafourche Parish events and activities, visit their website at LACajunBayou.com.