In Athens Georgia, there is a white oak tree that owns itself. It is now in its second generation of owning itself. The original tree was thought to start between the mid 16th century and late 18th century and it fell in 1942. One of its own acorns was planted in the spot.

It was on the property of William Henry Jackson and he wanted to protect the tree because he had a lot childhood memories with it. So in the 1820s, he deeded the tree and 8 feet around it to the tree itself. Only 1 person has ever seen the deed and it is believed to no longer exist. It is no technically part of the right-of-way of the adjacent street.