St. Paul's Oak Tree

St. Paul's Oak Tree. a Maryland Champion. At 7:40 a.m. on the morning of December 9, 2015, the sound of the first firing up of a chain saw was heard around the parking lot of St. Paul's Parish, Kent. It was time to begin the felling of the 400-year-old United States Champion Swamp Chestnut Oak (Quercus michauxii). It was the largest of its species in the United States. , There have been many claims that other Maryland trees are older, but according to the Big Tree Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service, St. Paul's tree was the oldest tree which could be documented as such and that date is recorded in the early annals of the Parish as 1682., With age comes frailty and poor health, and in 2010, when this glorious monarch of God's creation had reached its peak it had been in noticeable decline for some time. The tree lost a few extraordinarily large limbs, which fell dangerously close to passersby. Unbalanced, although appearing strong, the tree became a liability. After much discussion and consultation, the St. Paul's Vestry decided that the best course of action was to take the tree down. Needless to say that its grandeur will long live in the hearts of St. Paul's Parishioners, Over 400-years-old and 106 feet tall!, Measuring 24 feet, 6 inches in circumference with an average crown spread of 92 feet