Everything about The Wye Oak totally explained
The
Wye Oak was the honorary
state tree of
Maryland, and the largest
white oak tree in the
United States. Located in the town of
Wye Mills, in
Talbot County, Maryland, the Wye Oak was believed to be over 460 years old at the time of its destruction during a
hurricane on
June 6,
2002, and measured 382 inch (970 cm) in circumference of the trunk, 96 feet (29 m) in height, with a crown spread of 119 feet (36 m).
For years, its sprawling limbs were carefully held together with cables.
The Wye Oak first drew the attention of the public in
1909, when
Fred W. Besley, the first Maryland State Forester, made the first official measurement of the tree. Ten years later, in 1919, it was featured in
American Forester magazine. In 1939, the
Maryland General Assembly purchased the tree and almost 30 acres (121,000 m²) surrounding it and established the
Wye Oak State Park. In 1940, the
American Forestry Association named the Wye Oak one of its first National Champion Trees. By the time of its destruction sixty two years later, only one other tree named that year remained standing.
Dr. Frank Gouin, Professor Emeritus of Horticulture at the
University of Maryland, College Park, impressed both by the age and size of the tree, as well as its unusual resistance to oak wilt
fungus and the
gypsy moth, led a successful effort to clone the Wye Oak. The first two cloned saplings were planted at
Mount Vernon on April 26, 2002.
The site of the Wye Oak remains largely untouched, and the descriptive plaque placed there in 1921 remains at the site. Next to the site of the tree, and also maintained as part Wye Oak State Park, is a one-room brick schoolhouse hailing from the colonial period. It is the second oldest schoolhouse in Talbot County.
With the demise of the Wye Oak, the
Linden Oak in
North Bethesda, Maryland, is now the largest white oak tree in the U.S. (It is located beside the junction of
Rockville Pike and
Rock Creek Park's Beach Drive, and when the
Washington Metro was constructed, a special curve was added to the tracks in order to protect the tree.)
Wood from the destroyed tree was used to build a new desk for the Governor's office.
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