Among the 500 trees comprising 71 species at Riverview Cemetery is a majestic specimen of Northern Red Oak, or Quercus ruba, which can be found along Myrtle Avenue in Section E near the southern boundary of the grounds.
Known for its brilliant red fall color, the tree is native to the eastern and central United States; its range extends into Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota to the west. It can reach 60 to 75 feet in height with a crown spread of 45 feet at maturity when open grown, and the oblong-shaped leaves are five to eight inches long with seven to 11 bristle-tipped lobes.
Our tree has a 60-inch caliper as recorded by B.W. Bosenberg and Company, landscape architects based in Far Hills, N.J., which translates to a circumference of nearly 16 feet. The Sunday Times-Advertiser of December 12, 1915, notes that “due to his extensive knowledge in the care of trees, [Isaac] Stephens was given entire charge of the planting of all the trees in Riverview Cemetery, of which he was one of the founders,” likely making it among the earliest planted on the grounds after the Cemetery’s incorporation on February 28, 1858, a feat all the more remarkable as I am told it survived a lightning strike a number of decades ago.
Joseph S. Illick (1884-1967), a pioneer of the fledgling profession of forestry in the early-20th century, authored a number of field guides during his tenure as chief of Silviculture and Research for the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters and later as the state’s chief forester. They are, in chronological order: Common Trees of Pennsylvania in 1925, Common Trees of New Jersey in 1926, and Common Trees of Indiana, Common Trees of Massachusetts, Common Trees of Michigan, Common Trees of New York, and Common Trees of Ohio, all in 1927.
It was in the New York guide, however, that he noted the often-quoted praise that “the Red Oak is one of the biggest, stateliest, and handsomest trees of eastern North America.” Indeed, it is widely regarded today as a “national treasure,” and was designated the state tree of New Jersey in 1950.
Illick joined the faculty of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University in 1931 and went on to become its dean from 1944 until his retirement in 1951. He is interred in Syracuse’s Oakwood Cemetery.
Known for its brilliant red fall color, the tree is native to the eastern and central United States; its range extends into Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota to the west. It can reach 60 to 75 feet in height with a crown spread of 45 feet at maturity when open grown, and the oblong-shaped leaves are five to eight inches long with seven to 11 bristle-tipped lobes.
Our tree has a 60-inch caliper as recorded by B.W. Bosenberg and Company, landscape architects based in Far Hills, N.J., which translates to a circumference of nearly 16 feet. The Sunday Times-Advertiser of December 12, 1915, notes that “due to his extensive knowledge in the care of trees, [Isaac] Stephens was given entire charge of the planting of all the trees in Riverview Cemetery, of which he was one of the founders,” likely making it among the earliest planted on the grounds after the Cemetery’s incorporation on February 28, 1858, a feat all the more remarkable as I am told it survived a lightning strike a number of decades ago.
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| Northern Red Oak in Section E from Valley Avenue |
Joseph S. Illick (1884-1967), a pioneer of the fledgling profession of forestry in the early-20th century, authored a number of field guides during his tenure as chief of Silviculture and Research for the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters and later as the state’s chief forester. They are, in chronological order: Common Trees of Pennsylvania in 1925, Common Trees of New Jersey in 1926, and Common Trees of Indiana, Common Trees of Massachusetts, Common Trees of Michigan, Common Trees of New York, and Common Trees of Ohio, all in 1927.
It was in the New York guide, however, that he noted the often-quoted praise that “the Red Oak is one of the biggest, stateliest, and handsomest trees of eastern North America.” Indeed, it is widely regarded today as a “national treasure,” and was designated the state tree of New Jersey in 1950.
Illick joined the faculty of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University in 1931 and went on to become its dean from 1944 until his retirement in 1951. He is interred in Syracuse’s Oakwood Cemetery.
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