HILLSDALE — As America gets ready to celebrate its 250th anniversary next year, Hillsdale’s town and school officials have joined together to save a small part of local history that likely predated America’s Civil War.
A nearly 170–year-old white oak tree near the corner of Magnolia and Liberty avenues will be preserved by newly initiated borough and school district efforts to keep the tree around and healthy for possibly another 100 years.
Environmental Commission chair Fred Rubel noted, “It’s a lovely tree and a tree we previously recognized,” Rubel said, citing the local Arbor Day celebration in 2024. “It was a mere sapling around 1856, several years before the start of the Civil War, and we know it’s experienced quite a few storms over the years,” he said.
He said he was hoping the school district would work with the commission to nominate the tree as a heritage tree of note with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The tree was scheduled to be cut down as part of ongoing renovations needed at nearby George G. White Middle School, planned for completion in summer 2027.
On Oct. 30, Mayor Michael Sheinfield said an arborist’s inspection found the tree in good health and that, if possible, it should be preserved. He said Lombardy had shared the arborist’s findings with the project engineer and that the borough and school district had agreed to save the tree if feasible.
Lombardy, who joined the arborist on Oct. 30 during his assessment, told us that the arborist found the nearly tree “in good condition” with still “many years ahead of it.”
Following the assessment, Lombardy said he reached out to the engineer to redesign plans for a planned parking lot and underground stormwater retention basin planned in the tree area. He said the engineer believed the tree could be saved with revisions to the plan.
Lombardy said they may likely give up up four of 30 planned parking spaces to save the tree and the retention basis would not be affected.
During a late summer school board meeting held to discuss George White renovation plans, an environmental commission member, Tracy Hanson, raised the issue of saving the nearly tree and started a petition to make that happen.
At that point, it was unclear whether the tree could be saved, as Lombardy said the tree was scheduled to be removed and the area would likely be used for materials storage and later for parking and drainage improvements.
Sheinfield later wrote that residents had shown strong interest in saving the tree and that he and Lombardy had been discussing its future since late August. As part of that process, they agreed to retain an arborist to evaluate the tree’s health before making any decisions.
Tree ‘looks particularly healthy’
Rubel told us that white oak trees can potentially live at least 400 years, and noted to us that the Hillsdale oak tree “looks particularly healthy. My hope is that they can redesign the area so that the roots would not be impacted and the tree itself is not removed,” Rubel said.
Rubel said the environmental commission did not previously recognize the tree was “at risk” until late August when a commission member kicked off efforts to save the tree. He thanked the superintendent and mayor for their mutual efforts to preserve the tree after concerns were raised by residents and the commission.
Rubel noted, “Everyone would be amazed with how much water is absorbed by a tree of that size,” he said, adding that trees are critical to help reduce flooding and absorb or slow down water runoff during heavy, intense downpours.
He said when towns experience a loss of trees due to development, the area loses its capacity to absorb rainwater quickly, and runoff volumes increase.
On May 10, 2024, Pascack Press reported: At George White Middle School on April 30, Principal Don Bergamini led members of the Gardening Club in a fascinating activity centered around a grand white oak tree. As students measured its circumference and calculated its estimated age at 168 years—a living relic predating the U.S. Civil War—Principal Bergamini said, ‘This tree embodies the enduring spirit of Hillsdale and reminds us of the importance of preserving our natural heritage.” (See “Students reach up on Arbor Day,” by John Snyder, May 10, 2024.)
Hanson’s petition, “Save Our White Oak and Community Trees,” now closed, had 118 supporters.
“This white oak is estimated to be about 168 years old, standing approximately 75 feet tall and a circumference of 11 feet. These measurements were from the Arbor Day celebration in 2024 when George White students honored the tree. It is not only a living landmark but also an irreplaceable natural asset to our community,” the petition stated.
In the petition, Hanson noted mature oaks have been known to live 300 to 600 years, and that the tree may serve “as a teaching tool for local schools and residents about ecology and history” adding “a tree of this size and age cannot be replaced within our lifetimes. Removal would permanently reduce the ecological and cultural richness of our community.”