White Oak

The White Oak Tree is a landmark tree from the colonial era, more than 250 years old, growing near the center of Black Rock Forest. Its growth form, with widely branching lower limbs beginning 30 feet above the ground, indicates that it grew in a relatively dense forest in the late 1700s that was cleared for pasture in the 1800s. It is located near the highest point on Continental Road at its intersection with White Oak Road, a point about halfway between New Windsor and West Point. It was reportedly a place where Pony Express riders changed horses and it witnessed Continental Army troops passing by during the Revolutionary war. Since 1900, the surrounding forest has grown back or been replanted, with a spruce plantation to the west, a red pine plantation to the south, and a hardwood forest to the north.