What to Know
- A white oak tree at Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards was 600 years old and believed to be among the oldest trees in the nation
- It stood about 100 feet tall, had a trunk circumference of 18 feet and a branch spread of roughly 150 feet.
- Authorities decided to take down the tree after problems developed last summer and it was declared dead
Remnants of a 600-year-old white oak tree in New Jersey that was believed to be among the oldest in the nation will become furniture.
The trunk and limbs removed last week from the grounds of the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards were to be delivered Tuesday to Pollaro Custom Furniture in Hillside.
The company will transform the wood into altar tables for the church and meeting tables for Bernards town hall, according to News 12 New Jersey.
The tree weighed 116,000 pounds and took two days to take down after it began showing rot and weakness during the last couple of years.
Officials say Gen. George Washington held a picnic near the tree with Marquis de Lafayette.
Another white oak cultivated from the old tree's acorns was recently planted at the church.
