Historic South Jersey Oak Tree Standing for 600 Years Collapses

RIP to an iconic South Jersey tree known as The Salem Oak.

It's a huge part of New Jersey history, predating the establishment of the state itself. The Salem Oak was estimated to be nearly 600 years old, reportedly discovered in 1419.

But this past Thursday, the tree, located on Broadway in the City of Salem, uprooted and fell over. People parked several streets away just to get a look at the historic oak, according to NJ.com.

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Remembering The Salem Oak, which fell last week after 600 years. 😞 The tree was older than New Jersey, the United States and was probably there when Columbus arrived from Europe. 😞 The link in our bio has more information about the grand old tree. =
#salemnj #salemoak #nj #newjersey #oak
A post shared by NJ.com (@njdotcom) on Jun 9, 2019 at 6:00am PDT

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We’re heartbroken after the 600-year-old Salem Oak fell Thursday. 😞 It was listed as our state’s tallest white oak, but caretakers say it’s been failing over the past 100 years. Suddenly, it collapsed Thursday evening in the cemetery that has been its home. 😞 Folks turned out to get a look at the tree after it fell. “It’s a sad day for Salem,” said Jim Waddington of the Salem Religious Society of Friends. “That tree is part of our history.” - #salemnj #salemoak #nj #newjersey #oak
A post shared by NJ.com (@njdotcom) on Jun 7, 2019 at 5:48am PDT