Basking Ridge white oak
{{Short description|White oak in Basking Ridge, New Jersey}}
{{redirect|Old Oak Tree|the song|Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree}}
{{Infobox tree
| name=Basking Ridge white oak
| image=Basking Ridge Oak - white oak tree in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, May 2013 01.jpg
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| image_caption=Basking Ridge white oak in May 2013
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| species= White oak
| binomial=Quercus alba
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| coordinates={{Coord|40|42|24.5|N|74|32|56.5|W|display=inline,title}}
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| felled={{End date|2017|4|26}}
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The Basking Ridge white oak (also known as the Holy Oak) was a white oak tree that stood in the churchyard of the Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.Barron, James. [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/nyregion/a-600-year-old-oak-tree-finally-succumbs.html?_r=0 "A 600-Year-Old Oak Tree Finally Succumbs"], The New York Times, October 16, 2016. Accessed February 22, 2017. The tree was over 600 years old and died in 2016, before being cut down in 2017.{{cite news|date=September 18, 2016|title=NJ town mourns loss of 600-year-old tree|publisher=CBS News|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/n-j-town-mourns-loss-of-600-year-old-tree/|accessdate=October 6, 2016}} (video story) It stood at {{convert|97|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} tall, and may have been the oldest white oak in the world.Hickey, Magee. [http://pix11.com/2016/06/29/basking-ridge-rallies-behind-600-year-old-white-oak-tree/ "Basking Ridge rallies behind 600-year-old white oak tree"], WPIX, June 29, 2016. Accessed July 2, 2016.
History
The Basking Ridge white oak was located in the historical graveyard of the Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge.{{cite news|author=AP|date=April 27, 2017|title=600-year-old tree that witnessed history taken down|publisher=Fox News|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/600-year-old-tree-that-witnessed-history-taken-down|access-date=April 28, 2017}} English evangelist George Whitfield and American clergyman James Davenport preached under it on November 5, 1740 to a crowd of 3,000 during the First Great Awakening.{{cite web|author=William H. Felmeth (pastor), Herbert K. Ryder, Jr. (architect), and Arch W. Carswell (ex. President, Historical Society)|date=April 3, 1974|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: The Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge|url={{NRHP url|id=74001190}}|accessdate=2016-06-28|publisher=National Park Service}} with {{NRHP url|id=74001190|photos=y|title=photo from 1973}} George Washington's troops were drilled on the village green, within view, and Washington picnicked under the tree with Lafayette. The 5,500 French troops under General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur marched by in 1781 on their route to Yorktown, Virginia and the decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War.
Description
File:Old White Oak, Basking Ridge, NJ - April, 2017.jpg
The Holy Oak was 619 years old when it died in 2016. It stood at a height of {{convert|97|ft|m|sp=us}} and had a trunk circumference of {{convert|20|ft|m|sigfig=1|sp=us}}. Its spread was over {{convert|130|ft|m|sp=us}}.{{cite news|author=Amy Ellis Nutt|date=June 27, 2016|title=A town tries to care for, and let go of, its oldest resident — a 600-year-old oak|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-town-tries-to-care-for-and-let-go-of-its-oldest-resident--a-600-year-old-oak/2016/06/27/a7fc4dcc-3a1a-11e6-8f7c-d4c723a2becb_story.html|accessdate=June 28, 2016}} In its final years, its lower branches were supported by metal bars.[http://www.bernardslibrary.org/pdf/WalkingTour.pdf A Walking Tour of Historic Basking Ridge Village] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819210315/http://www.bernardslibrary.org/pdf/WalkingTour.pdf|date=2016-08-19}}, The Historic Society of the Somerset Hills. Accessed July 2, 2016. "Over the tombstones broods the ancient White Oak (Quercus alba), more than 600 years old. It stands tall at 97', with a spread of 156' and a circumference of 18'."
Death and cutting down
File:Old White Oak, Basking Ridge, NJ - stump, January 2022.jpg
In June 2016, the tree was "failing to thrive" and showed signs of distress as its upper parts failed to sprout leaves.{{cite news|author=Dave Hutchinson|date=September 9, 2016|title=600-year-old white oak appears to be nearing final days|publisher=NJ.com|url=http://www.nj.com/somerset/index.ssf/2016/09/600-year-old_white_oak_tree_nearing_final_days.html|accessdate=October 6, 2016}} By September 2016, the tree had died.{{cite news|date=September 16, 2016|title=The oldest white oak tree in North America is on its last limbs|publisher=CBS News|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-oldest-white-oak-tree-in-north-america-is-on-its-last-limbs/|accessdate=October 6, 2016}}{{cite news|date=September 19, 2016|title=Towering Oak Tree that Has Been Basking Ridge Landmark for Centuries Has Died|publisher=TAPinto.net|url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/new-providence/sections/green/articles/towering-oak-tree-that-has-been-basking-ridge-lan-2|accessdate=October 6, 2016}}{{cite news|author=Pam Wright|date=September 19, 2016|title=New Jersey Town Mourns Imminent Loss of North America's Oldest White Oak Tree|publisher=The Weather Channel|url=https://weather.com/science/nature/news/new-jersey-white-oak-tree|accessdate=October 6, 2016}}{{cite news|author=Dave Hutchinson|date=September 20, 2016|title=Church deciding how to memorialize 600-year-old white oak tree|publisher=NJ.com|url=http://www.nj.com/somerset/index.ssf/2016/09/600-year-old_white_oak_tree_to_be_cut_down.html|accessdate=October 6, 2016}}{{cite news|author=Alexis Tarrazi|date=September 21, 2016|title=Basking Ridge's 600 Year Old Ancient Tree Has Died|publisher=Patch.com|url=http://patch.com/new-jersey/baskingridge/basking-ridges-600-year-old-ancient-tree-has-died|accessdate=October 6, 2016}} It was cut down over a three-day period, with the work finished on April 26, 2017. A young white oak grown from an acorn of the old tree was planted in the churchyard.
The current biggest tree in New Jersey is identified as another white oak in the yard of the Sparta Historical Association of Sparta.{{cite news |author=Bruce A. Scruton |date=September 27, 2016 |title=The mighty oak is dead; long live the new big oak |publisher=New Jersey Herald |url=http://www.njherald.com/20160928/the-mighty-oak-is-dead---long-live-the-new-big-oak |access-date=October 6, 2016}}
See also
References
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External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- [https://www.bernards.org/ Bernards Township]
{{New Jersey Historic Sites}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basking Ridge White Oak Tree}}
Category:Bernards Township, New Jersey
Category:Pre-statehood history of New Jersey