8,400 Pound Memorial Created From Basking Ridge's Great Oak Tree

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — An approximately 8,400 pound, 5-foot-tall massive chunk of wood taken from the historic 600-year-old great white oak tree, that was cut down in April 2017, will live on as a memorial in Basking Ridge.

The wood, taken from the top part of the trunk, was donated to Ross Farm in Basking Ridge, by owners of Forged in Wood, Keith Keiling and David Schneck.

"We wanted this to serve as a memory and representation of what the tree was to the community," Keiling said.

The memorial was donated on Friday and is open for the public to visit at 135 N Maple Ave., Basking Ridge. For more information and hours, visit rossfarm.org.

The 619-year-old tree, believed to be possibly the oldest white oak tree in the country, had served as a center point of the township. It was located outside the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church on Oak Street, named after the tree. Even the township's emblem has an oak leaf in honor of the tree.

In 1924, the great oak was in urgent need of help and a hired company came in to try and preserve the tree using unusual methods. Those included using cables, concrete and rods. Their actions allowed the tree to live on for more than 90 more years.

The tree was 93-feet high, had a spread of 126 feet, and 23 feet in circumference at the base. A total of 35 cables were used with a total of 1,150 feet and 165 feet of threaded rods to hold the tree together.

A total of 72 cavities of rotten wood were filled with concrete, totaling more than three tons of concrete used, according to Forged in Wood.

The total weight of the tree was 146,500 pounds.

Now Forged in Wood is milling the tree into usable lumber to create memorial pieces for locals to purchase.

Keiling and Schneck have an agreement with the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church to take responsibility for all expenses involved in the storage, processing and marketing of the wood from the tree.

To honor the tree, Keiling and Schneck are using every little piece of it, even the shavings, to craft a remembrance piece.

"The Basking Ridge Oak Collection" will include items such as wooden cheese boards, blocks of decorative wood, pens crafted using the wood, ornaments, candle centerpieces, pendant necklaces, and other pieces of unique art.

The exclusive retailer for The Basking Ridge Oak Collection will be The Rebecca Collection at 2 Mine Brook Road in the center of Bernardsville. On Thursday, Dec. 6 between 6 and 8:30 p.m. the Oak Collection will official be rolled out. Custom orders or requests can be sent directly to info@forgedinwood.net.

A total of 10 percent of all sales will back to the church.

Items will also soon be sold online, once a web site is launched Patch will announce it for readers.

• See Related: Basking Ridge's 600 Year Old Ancient Tree Has Died
• Related: Tears Flow As 600-Year-Old NJ Tree Is Being Cut Down
• Related: A Slice Of History: Basking Ridge Oak Tree Is Full Of 'Surprises'
• Related: Basking Ridge Oak Tree Was 619 Years Old
• Related: Film Preserving Memory Of Basking Ridge's Ancient Oak Completed
• Related: Benches Carved From Basking Ridge's Great Oak Donated To Students

(Images via Sarah Keiling)

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