Much-loved 'George Washington oak tree' cut down
A 600-year-old oak tree where President George Washington once picnicked has been cut down after starting to show signs of its age.
Working under a grey cloudy sky on Monday, crews in a New Jersey town cut down limbs and pieces of trunk as community members looked on.
"Everybody knows Basking Ridge because of this tree. It's a sad sight to see it come down," said one resident .
Acorns from the tree have already been used to grow a replacement.
A young 16-year old tree, only 25ft (7.5m) tall, already stands in the north end of the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church.
Work began on Monday on the tree, but is expected to continue for several more days.
"It'll be an empty feeling, very different," said Jann Slapin told NJ.com
In 1740, when the town was in its infancy, English evangelists George Whitefield and James Davenport preached under the tree.
Decades later, General George Washington sat on the lawn to eat with his friend and revolutionary, the Marquis de Lafayette.
It was reportedly the oldest white oak in the country.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39697989
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I understand why it has to be done, but after standing for 600 years and being as historic to America as it is, it is still a real shame. I am glad that the have planted other trees with it's acorns so it's line can continue on.
I also kind of wonder why the BBC (which I love to read and do so online almost daily) filed this story under entertainment-arts? A bit of a slap back at our George?
Good thing Trump didnt own the property or it would have been torn down to put up a parking garage decades ago.
Sad but true....or an apartment building.
Sad that you would use this story for an unfounded political attack.
Trump took an old lady to court to get hold of her house so he could tear it down and put up a parking lot. You don't think he would cut a tree down without blinking an eye?
Your obsessed fantasies have nothing to do with this story.
Neither do yours.
Settle.....please.
You approved politics being brought into an apolitical story, Randy. A poor decision.
And I now apologize. Good enough for you?
Yes, actually.
This tree was so closely associated with Basking Ridge that the town is still reeling from the loss. I'm glad that there are plans to use it.
So am I.
"Sad that you would use this story for an unfounded political attack. "
But that is what happens when someone is "a hustler who always needs to keep them self 'relevant'." interjecting their opinion on something where its not even part of the story being told.
Can you keep politics out of anything. That's pathetic.
I grew up in Bernardsville, the next town over. My sister had wedding photos under this tree. It has nothing to do with Trump.
well I can think of something that could be meaningfully done with the lumber from this tree, have display cases made to display the congressional medal of honor, for the recipients, just an idea.
The church is working on plans now.
have display cases made to display the congressional medal of honor, for the recipients, just an idea.
I love that idea!
Truly a sad story. And I have to agree that it was an odd place for the British papers to put it.