A Little background about the Publix Oak

First, the tree referred to as the Publix Oak is not on property owned by the Publix Market, but refers to its location in front of the Publix Market. Owners are the Medlock Corners shopping center.

Was this tree deemed an important specimen requiring preservation in the early 1990s when the Medlock Corners shopping center and Publix were built?

Short answer is YES and it would have been determined by a professional arborist.

• In 1986, Fulton County adopted a Tree Preservation Ordinance and hired a full-time arborist to manage its implementation.
• Based on multiple AJC articles, the Publix tree (then within unincorporated Fulton County) would have been evaluated by the county arborist as part of the 1992 zoning for the shopping center.
• The tree's preservation and specification of such a large naturalized tree bed (approx. 60 x 90 feet) indicate the importance the Fulton County arborist placed on the tree.

Is the Publix tree historic?

In a city with very little remaining that physically ties to its history, the tree is a treasure.

• It's historic by its longevity and by being intrinsically linked to the City's past. The tree is on land of a Cherokee plantation that was worked by enslaved people and is just down the hill from the Macedonia Cemetery where locally enslaved and their descendants are buried.
• Over its long lifetime, the tree would have seen the horse-drawn traffic of traders, travelers, and local farmers on their way to and from the Warsaw and Medlock ferries.  It grew on a farm at the center of the historic Warsaw community near the local saw mill, cotton gin, and store.
• Somehow it evaded the axe and plow as seasons of cotton, corn, and wheat grew  adjacent, and it stood witness to extreme droughts, the boll weevil, and the hard life of poor rural tenant farm families, barefoot children arriving at the new Warsaw School, and moonshiners racing down Medlock Bridge Road toward Atlanta.
• The tree survived the first signs of modern development when other trees were cut for electric lines and to reposition and pave the dirt Medlock Bridge and State Bridge roads. For several more decades it grew as farms disappeared and rapid development arrived.

Saved once as a heritage tree when the Medlock Corners shopping center was built in 1993. Saved again in 2023 when a Shake Shack restaurant and removal of the tree were denied by the City.
This tree has been a survivor, but now sadly ITS END IS NEAR.

Finding a location for a history archives

Help us with a location to create a record of the past for future generations.

A goal of the Johns Creek Historical Society is to gather in one place the records and stories of the past to create both a physical and digital archive to preserve Johns Creek's history and make the records available to the public.

Currently, the growing contents of the history archives are housed in a private location. While not accessible to the public, information in the archives is constantly shared with both local, Georgia, and out-of- state researchers, authors, and family genealogists. Not having an appropriate space continues to negatively affect efforts to engage residents' help in preserving local history and our ability to accept valuable artifacts and documents.

Drawing above was proposed to meet needs in 2019. In the 6 years since, the research materials and archived items of the historical society have increased significantly.

Minimum Archives Space Needs - A climate-controlled and secure space in Johns Creek with:

• A locked storage area
• An area for history research that accommodates file cabinets, a map cabinet, a desk, work table, and digitizing equipment

See more about how research and gathering documents and artifacts are creating a history archives and research library.