Our centuries-old London Grove Oak stood as a shelter and inspiration for generations of Quaker gatherings, kindergarteners, and nature lovers throughout Chester County. Carbon-dating places its life beginning around 1650. This means our oak was already standing on the property during William Penn’s 1682 visit to the area. For this reason, while alive, it was officially recognized as one of the historic “Penn Oaks.”
In 1969, the tree was designated the Pennsylvania Champion White Oak (Quercus alba) for its extraordinary size. This beloved giant fell gently on a warm, sunny afternoon on September 19, 2023. We offer deep gratitude to the local forestry experts, arboretums, and mills who donated their services to remove, preserve, and mill the wood of this historic tree.
Honoring the Legacy
London Grove Meeting is committed to preserving the legacy of our Penn Oak. Much of its 52 tons of white oak has already been distributed—free of charge—to museums, arboretums, and woodcrafters who can honor the tree’s story through their work. A few cross-sections and several 20-foot planks remain reserved for museums and large organizations and will be available beginning in fall 2027. Please contact us if your organization is interested.
On this website, we have begun sharing photos of how artisans and crafters are transforming this special wood. We warmly invite you to send images of your own completed pieces so they may be included.
Offspring and Future Growth
Over the centuries, many acorns from the Penn Oak grew into saplings that were planted in local yards. These locations were never formally recorded and are now known primarily through local memory. If you have—or believe you have—an offspring of the Penn Oak, please contact us so we may include it in our records.
Two confirmed offspring grow on the Meetinghouse grounds. We are also nurturing a grafted cutting that will eventually be planted here as a living continuation of the original tree. In addition, Longwood Gardens is cultivating several cuttings and acorns in their care.
Thank you to Hearne Hardwoods for their many gifts of time, processing, transportation & storage, guidance, respect, and love.
Wood Availability Update
- Large trunk planks (20’): Remaining planks are reserved for educational and museum use; if interested, please contact us.
- Crafted items: If you have crafted items from the Penn Oak wood to display or available for sale please contact LondonGroveOak@gmail.com.
- Seedlings: We currently have no oak offspring available. If you’ve planted a Penn Oak descendant or know of one, please reach out to londongroveclerk@verizon.net
Celebrating the Penn Oak’s Legacy:
Woodworkers from near and far have created beautiful pieces from the Oak. If you’ve made something, we’d love to share it! Submit photos of your finished work to LondonGroveOak@gmail.com for inclusion in our online
Note: The Meeting is not selling Penn Oak items but will gladly connect interested buyers with the individual artists. If an artist has items for sale, the contact information will be provided with the image; for galleries with more than two items, select/click image to display in lightbox and show captioned text.
