{{Short description|White oak tree in New Jersey, U.S.}} {{Coord|39|50|41|N|75|5|25|W|display=title}} thumb|right|Clement Oak, before its destruction The '''Clement Oak''' was a large old white oak tree in Deptford Township, New Jersey. It is believed to have sprouted between 1555 and 1615, and was destroyed<ref name=DeadTree/> by a storm{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} in the early 21st century.
The Clement Oak was located behind the Deptford Wal-Mart, near Big Timber Creek, on land that once belonged to the Clement family. The original plans for construction of the Wal-Mart called for the tree to be felled, but Wal-Mart was persuaded to alter their plan so the tree could be spared.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
The girth of the tree (2011) at {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} was {{convert|20|ft|m}}.<ref name=Monumental/> The estimated height was {{convert|90|ft|m}} with an overall spread of over {{convert|100|ft|m}}.<ref name=HiddenNJ/>
The Clement Oak is said to have been known to the aboriginal Lenape, and to have been noticed by the first European settlers, as it served as a reference point in early land surveys. According to unsubstantiated local lore, native pow wows were held there, and a treaty between settlers and the Lenape was signed beneath its branches. The Gloucester County Historical Society honored the Clement Oak during New Jersey's 300 year anniversary celebration in 1964.<ref name=HiddenNJ/>
The Clement Oak was the site of the landing of the first aerial flight in the New World, a 1793 balloon flight. On January 9, 1793, Jean-Pierre Blanchard took off from Philadelphia and landed in Deptford at the Clement Oak. During his flight, Blanchard carried a personal letter from George Washington to be delivered to the owner of whatever property Blanchard happened to land on, which if true would have made the flight the first delivery of air mail in the United States as well;<ref name=Times/> the letter is also said to have included a directive that all U.S. citizens were requested to assist him to return to Philadelphia (Blanchard did not speak English), which if true would make it the first known use of a blood chit for an airman.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/towns/index.ssf/2010/01/jean-pierre_blanchards_balloon.html |title=Jean-Pierre Blanchard's balloon landing, a major part of Deptford's history, turns 217 |author=Kelly Roncace |date=January 5, 2010 |work=Gloucester County Times |accessdate=April 29, 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/about-philately-covers-and-letters-air-and-space-airplane-mail/pioneer-period-1783-1918 |title=Pioneer Period (1783-1918) |author=Stephen Reinhard |date= |publisher=Smithsonian National Postal Museum |accessdate=April 29, 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://info.mysticstamp.com/first-flown-letter-in-america_tdih/ |title=First Flown Letter in America |publisher=Mystic Stamp Company |accessdate=May 26, 2025}}{{cite web |url=http://smithsonianapa.org/recollections/flying-tigers/ |title=The Flying Tigers, America's secret army in Burma |publisher=Smithsonian Asia Pacific America Center |access-date=June 6, 2019}}</ref>
A plaque was placed at the tree to commemorate the balloon flight. A second plaque was placed to commemorate the tree itself, reading "The Clement Oak, which sheltered Lenape hunters 4 centuries ago and children at play in later years, is dedicated during the tercentenary of New Jersey as symbolic of the state's continuing growth – Gloucester County Historical Society July 1964".<ref name=GeoCache/>
As of June 4, 2020 most of the tree had been torn away, leaving only a dead stump a few meters tall.
{{Gallery | File:Clement Oak as of May 5th 2020.jpg | Clement Oak as of May 5, 2020 | alt1=Large oak tree | File:Clement Oak September 16th 2021.jpg | Remnant stump of the Clement Oak as of September 16th, 2021 | alt2= }}
==See also== * List of individual trees
==References== <references>
<ref name=Monumental>{{cite web |url=https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/newjersey/camdencounty/4597_walmart/ |title=White oak 'Clement Oak' behind the Wal-mart in Deptford |work=Monumental Trees |accessdate=April 29, 2017}}</ref>
<ref name=HiddenNJ>{{cite web |url=http://www.hiddennj.com/2013/09/a-soft-landing-and-majestic-tree-behind.html?m=1&v=1234 |title=A soft landing and a majestic tree behind the Deptford Walmart |date=September 29, 2013 |work=Hidden New Jersey |accessdate=April 29, 2017}}</ref>
<ref name=Times>{{cite web |url=http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/towns/index.ssf/2010/01/jean-pierre_blanchards_balloon.html |title=Jean-Pierre Blanchard's balloon landing, a major part of Deptford's history, turns 217 |author=Kelly Roncace |date=January 5, 2010 |work=Gloucester County Times |accessdate=April 29, 2017}}</ref>
<ref name=GeoCache>{{cite web |url=https://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=a2fee9e7-f471-44df-86ca-124099965510&IID=865b50d6-d052-40ae-abc9-d96934efc0e6 |title=View Geocache Log – sacyspooh found The Clement Oak |date=March 21, 2009 |work=Geocaching |accessdate=April 29, 2017}}</ref>
<ref name=DeadTree>Photograph showing the dead stump of the Clement Oak</ref> <!--NB there is a text source, https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/usa/newjersey/camdencounty/4597_walmart/9386/, which says the tree died in a storm, but it's just some random person saying the read it online somewhere. We have not been able to find a date of destruction.-->
</references>
Category:Deptford Township, New Jersey Category:Individual trees in New Jersey Category:Individual oak trees