The Washington Oak is a protected ancient
white oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...
tree in
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, USA that overlooks the
Princeton Battlefield State Park
The Princeton Battlefield in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, is where American and British troops fought each other on January 3, 1777 in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolutionary War. The battle ended when t ...
. The
International Society of Arboriculture and the
Tree Care Industry Association jointly recognize the Washington Oak as having lived at the time of the signing of the
United States Constitution in 1787.
Place in history
The Washington Oak, over 275 years old, stands on Millett's Hill where the pivotal
Battle of Princeton was ignited in 1777. On the morning of January 3 British Lt. Colonel
Charles Mawhood's regiment marched out of Princeton on the Kings Highway (Rt. 206) to reinforce Trenton. But as they approached the top of the hill, Mawhood's men caught sight of
General Mercer's forces massing on the other side of the
Stony Brook. They reversed direction, recrossed the Brook and engaged the Americans. When Mercer's troops broke, General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
, the tree's namesake, rallied them to victory.
Development pressure
The tree and its surroundings were the scene of a bitter, protracted dispute between a builder, the Township, and the State over development rights. In 198
Calton Homesacquired the White Farm which included the Washington Oak. Calton planned to build over 1200 homes on the property, but Township
zoning
Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...
limited the density of homes, allowing only 40. Calton sued the Township arguing the zoning requirements did not comply with the
New Jersey Supreme Court's Mount Laurel rulings which required municipalities to develop
affordable housing
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on af ...
for low- and middle-income families. This "second battle of Princeton" gathered so much attention that Gov.
Thomas Kean
Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...
referred to it in his 1989 State of the State address, claiming the farm was "threatened by weapons the British never carried" and "what
General Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...
and his British troops could never do,
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
s ... are poised to do: win a battle over ... New Jersey." Later that year the parties settled, allowing Calton to build 300 properties on while the preserving the Washington Oak and its nearby meadow as open space. The resulting development, Washington Oaks at Princeton, provides 60 low- and moderate-income condominium units mixed with 240 market-rate single-family detached houses, townhouses, and condominiums.
Using Zoning to Spur Lower-Priced Housing - New York Times
/ref>
See also
* List of individual trees
References
{{Princeton, New Jersey
Individual oak trees
Princeton, New Jersey
Individual trees in New Jersey