An oak forest in southwestern Virginia that had been sampled in 1971 was resampled in 1991. The stand was divided into an upper, drier part and a lower, more mesic part. Comparisons were made in community composition between years and between the two parts of the stand. Overall density of the dominants, scarlet oak and chestnut oak declined and basal area increased, thus indicating maturing of the community. Most notable changes over 20 years were: large increases in trees and saplings of black gum and American chestnut; Smilax rotundifolia, virtually absent in 1971, increased 16-fold in the upper stand; chinquapin of sapling size increased markedly in upper and lower stands; importance of Virginia pine increased somewhat in the upper stand, but declined to zero in the lower stand; black locust disappeared from both parts of the stand. Density of seedlings and shrubs remained rather constant as did cover % of herbs. Saplings and seedlings of chestnut oak and scarlet oak are moderately to very abundant, so these species should remain dominant for the life of the community.