This Centennial Oak
lost two limbs

STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS —Stanford University’s last surviving Centennial Oak, an historic coast live oak tree believed to have been alive in 1787, has succumbed to age.

The tree—which was believed to be at least 221 years old—had been showing signs of deterioration prior to June 5 when two limbs crashed down onto a patio area outside of the Graduate School of Business. No one was injured. A week later a second large portion of the tree fell into a street. the rest was removed by grounds crews on June 20.

“One of our equipment operators was in the area and heard the breaking of that limb (on June 5),” said Herbert Fong, Facilities Operations Manager for Stanford University. “It’s unfortunate, but that tree has had issues in the past.”

A plaque at the base of the tree, placed in 1987 by the National Arborist Association and the International Society of Arboriculture, said the prized oak was believed to have been around at the time of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Surrounded by a stone retaining wall, the noteworthy tree was dubbed the Alumni Oak when the adjacent Business School building was opened in 1965.

It was the last remaining certified historic tree on Stanford’s campus. A second coast live oak, a 300-year-old giant that was once the key landscape element located next to the Stanford Family Mausoleum, became diseased and was taken down in 1993.