Walk under the boughs of the Century Tree with a lover and you will be together forever: so goes the tradition at Texas A&M University. Many an Aggie skirts the spot, while others seek every chance to visit this immense live oak. Large drooping branches rest on the ground, providing ample opportunity for young co-eds to linger with hope for the future.

The Century Tree, likely planted around the turn of the twentieth century, has been the site of numerous marriage proposals, weddings, and photographs over the years. It is considered a symbol of strength and loyalty on a campus known for its rich heritage.

Traditions abound at Texas A&M, the first public institute of higher education in Texas as well as one of the nation’s earliest land-grant colleges. From Silver Taps and Aggie Muster that honor deceased students to the Twelfth Man—Aggies who stand ready for service—“there’s a Spirit can ne’er be told” in Aggieland.

As the college has grown from just 40 students to over 50,000, so has the land. No longer the bald prairie of 1876, Texas A&M University is now a lush campus of 5,500 acres. Colleges grow, people grow, trees grow. The Century tree, once a sapling now a majestic icon, symbolizes the enduring bonds of the university as well as those forged under the boughs of the tree.

On the Texas A&M University campus between the Academic Building and Bolton Hall.