Rigging Of The Oldest White Oak In America
Heritage assisted with rigging America’s oldest white oak tree.
The white oak tree stood beside the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church for nearly 300 years before builders constructed the church in 1717. In 1740, famous English evangelists James Davenport and George Whitefield preached to more than 3,000 people beneath its branches. George Washington also picnicked under its shade.
Locals closely monitored the tree’s care over the past several decades, but it showed more pronounced signs of aging in the last ten years. In the 1930s, workers filled a large cavity inside the tree with three tons of concrete. The local water company installed 260 feet of steel rods and 1,500 feet of steel cables to support the weight of the tree’s branches.
Unfortunately, after years of trying to preserve the tree, decay appeared, and experts declared it dead last year. The church decided to chop down the tree before it could fall on its own. After cutting it down, they transported the tree to a New Jersey master furniture maker, who turned parts of the massive trunk into a limited series of custom tables, including a Revolutionary War musket ball embedded in it.
THE CHALLENGE
The scope of work included:
- Conducting extensive preplanning and implementing safety measures to protect employees and the historical tree before starting work
- Assisting with initial break-cuts using various rigging techniques and a crane to support and lift each cut section
- Lifting and staging each cut section in a designated area after freeing it from the tree
- Managing the size and complexity of the tree, a 12-hour workday with six men resulted in only one cut
- Continuing to cut and stage the remaining tree sections using the same process until completion
THE EXECUTION
Heritage takes great pride in being involved and entrusted with such a historic and important project. We look forward to viewing the final limited desks crafted from this historic piece.
