Preserving a Legacy

For well over 450 years, a quiet giant stood marking the passage of time for many generations. The Wye Oak survived through the birth of a nation, the Civil War, and two World Wars. Located alongside what was once a Native American Trail and later Route 662, the tree had countless visitors and admirers.

In 1909, one of those admirers, Maryland's first state forester, Fred W Besley, took the first official measurements of the tree. The tree quickly gained notoriety as the "largest and finest specimen of white oak in the country".

The Wye Oak State Park marked, the first time a government purchased a single tree for preservation (1939).

In 1940, the American Forestry Association held a nationwide contest to locate the "largest living specimens of American trees." The Wye Oak was the first tree to be named a national champion. It was one of only two trees to have held its title since the contests beginning, until it tragically fell in a storm in June of 2002.

The tree measured nearly 32 feet in circumference and 96 feet tall. Its crown spread over 119 feet covering nearly 1/3 of an acre. The main trunk of the tree weighed over 61,000 pounds.

New life is being brought to Wye Oak State Park. A clone of the mighty tree has been transplanted to this site to be



enjoyed by a new generation of admirers.

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Show me all markers in:  Wye Mills, MD  |  Talbot County  |  21679  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

Wye Oak * National Champion White Oak
Wye Oak House
The "Little House" in the Shade
The Wye Oak
A Glimpse Inside a Giant
A Brief History of the Mill
So, How Does a Mill Work?
Wye Grist Mill
The Wye Grist Mill
Wye Grist Mill and Museum

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