Giant White Oak Falls in Storm, Revealing Secret

For Immediate Release

Giant White Oak Falls in Storm, Revealing Secret

Newport News, Va. - (August 2011) - A 350-plus-year-old white oak tree fell in The Mariners’ Museum Park when Hurricane Irene swept through revealing a long-held secret.

The age of the tree was not a secret. Non-invasive testing performed about 20 years ago revealed that it was 335 years old.

But when the tree fell, it revealed concrete slabs long covered by tree growth. Director of Facilities and Real Estate John Cannup said the slabs were part of a repair made more than 100 years ago.

“My idea is, the tree probably took a hard lightning strike that blew the bark off,” Cannup said. “They wanted to save the tree, so they drove old, forged nails partway into the tree, then poured sections of concrete to cover up where the lightning had damaged it."

“Over time, the tree grew over it; there’s about 6 inches of tree completely covering the concrete repairs. From the outside of the tree, you’d have no idea it was there at all.”

Cannup said the tree, which is 61 inches in diameter, is the oldest known tree in the 500-acre Mariners’ Museum Park. In all, Irene claimed about 40 trees in the park, the largest privately owned park open to the public in North America. The park’s 5-mile Noland Trail is open, but there are hazards. The trail is completely blocked in three locations. Walkers and runners are advised to “use at your own risk.”

Cannup said the tree damage from Irene was light relative to Tropical Storm Isabel, which claimed 3,000 Mariners’ Museum Park trees in 2003. 

For more information:
Contact: John Warren
(757) 591-7746
E-mail: pr@MarinersMuseum.org

The Mariners' Museum, an educational, non-profit institution accredited by the American Association of Museums, preserves and interprets maritime history through an international collection of ship models, figureheads, paintings and other maritime artifacts. The museum is open from 10 A.M. until 5 P.M. Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 to 5 P.M. Sunday. It will be closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For information, visit www.MarinersMuseum.org, call (757) 596-2222 or (800) 581-7245, or write to The Mariners' Museum, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606.

The Mariners' Museum and The South Street Seaport Museum of New York City are partners in America's National Maritime Museum, an innovative alliance recognized by an act of Congress in June 1998 to share collections, exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and other endeavors.