Last week, a 400-year-old tree stood tall for the last time in Chester County. The white oak unexpectedly uprooted right near Kennett Square, writes Jen Samuel for The Daily Local News.
It now lies on the grounds of the London Grove Friends Meeting Place.
Nicknamed the Penn Oak, the tree was well-known for the fact that it grew during Willam Penn’s time when he arrived in 1682. It was the oldest tree of its kind in Pennsylvania.
Anthony Vietri, whose family runs Va La Vineyards and has lived on their homestead on Gap-Newport Road near London Grove, expressed his heartbreak.
“The loss of such an iconic part of our history tends to remind me that trees like the great White Oak represent so much more to us, beyond just being a tree,” Vietri said. “Once they are gone, it is a loss to our identity, our legacy, and our cultural heritage.”
Many generations of people throughout the community tended to Penn Oak and stood witness to its beauty over the changing seasons. People traveling as far as Virginia came to pay respects to the fallen tree.
“For us, it’s very personal,” said Robert Frye, treasurer of the London Grove Friends Meeting Place. “Generations have come and gone in wonder of this tree.”
The fate of the trunk will be decided by the London Grove Friends Meeting Place while some limbs had to be cut off and removed already. Meanwhile, acorns and small branches were collected in the hopes of propagation.
Read more about the fallen Penn Oak in The Daily Local News.
