A tree grows in Joisey

A wonderful story - watch to the very end!!

A historic 600-year-old great oak tree was cut down at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church. The iconic tree was believed to have been the oldest in the nation and was the centerpiece of the community. While the loss of the tree was emotional for many, there was a silver lining to this story. The offspring of that ancient tree was planted at the church.

From Wikipedia:
In the historical graveyard of the church stood a White Oak, sometimes called the "Holy Oak", until 2017. It was 600 years old, possibly the oldest white oak in the world. It was nearly 100 feet (30 m) tall and had a spread of more than 130 feet (40 m). It has a trunk circumference of 20 feet (6.1 m) and its lower branches were supported.

English evangelist George Whitfield and American clergyman James Davenport, preached under the tree on November 5, 1740 to a crowd of 3,000, in the First Great Awakening.
George Washington's troops were drilled on the village green, within view, and Washington picnicked under the tree with the Marquis de LaFayette.
The 5,500 French troops of Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau marched by in 1781, on their route to Yorktown, Virginia and the decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War.

In June 2016, the tree was "failing to thrive" and showed signs of distress as its upper parts failed to sprout leaves. By September 2016, the tree had died. The tree was taken down over three days with the work finished on April 26, 2017. A young white oak grown from an acorn of the old tree has been planted in the churchyard.

The new biggest tree in New Jersey is identified as another white oak tree in the yard of the Sparta Historical Association of Sparta, New Jersey.