The Washington Oak is a protected ancient white oak

White oak

Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...

 tree in Princeton Township

Princeton Township, New Jersey

Also Princeton Borough is an independent municipality completely surrounded by the township.Princeton North is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Princeton Township....

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, USA that overlooks the Princeton Battlefield State Park. The International Society of Arboriculture

International Society of Arboriculture

The International Society of Arboriculture is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Champaign, Illinois USA. Its mission statement: "Through research, technology, and education promote the professional practice of arboriculture and foster a greater public awareness of the...

 and the Tree Care Industry Association

Tree Care Industry Association

Founded in 1938, the Tree Care Industry Association, formerly the National Arborist Association, is a US public and professional resource organization on trees and arboriculture....

 jointly recognize the Washington Oak as having lived at the time of the signing of the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

 in 1787.

Place in history

The Washington Oak, over 275 years old, stands on Millett's Hill where the pivotal Battle of Princeton

Battle of Princeton

The Battle of Princeton was a battle in which General George Washington's revolutionary forces defeated British forces near Princeton, New Jersey....

 was ignited in 1777. On the morning of January 3 British Lt. Colonel Charles Mawhood's

Charles Mawhood

Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood was the British commander at the Battle of Princeton.His military service began with purchase of a cornetcy in 1st Dragoon Guards . He served in the Seven Years' War , initially as a Captain in the 15th Light Dragoons, then transferred to 18th Light Dragoons...

 regiment marched out of Princeton on the Kings Highway (Rt. 206) to reinforce Trenton. But as they approached the top of the hill, Mawhood's men caught sight of General Mercer's

Hugh Mercer

Hugh Mercer was a soldier and physician. He initially served with British forces during the Seven Years War but later became a brigadier general in the Continental Army and a close friend to George Washington...

 forces massing on the other side of the Stony Brook

Stony Brook

Stony Brook, Stonybrook or Stoney Brook may refer to:In California* Farwell, California, once known as StonybrookIn Massachusetts* Stony Brook , a tributary of the Charles River in Boston...

. They reversed direction, recrossed the Brook and engaged the Americans. When Mercer's troops broke, General George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

, the tree's namesake, rallied them to victory.

Development pressure

The tree and its surroundings were the scene of a bitter, protracted dispute between a builder, the Township, and the State over development rights. In 1983 Calton Homes acquired the White Farm which included the Washington Oak. Calton planned to build over 1200 homes on the 124 acre (0.50181064 km²) property, but Township zoning

Zoning

Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...

 limited the density of homes, allowing only 40. Calton sued the Township arguing the zoning requirements did not comply with the New Jersey Supreme Court's

New Jersey Supreme Court

The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It has existed in three different forms under the three different state constitutions since the independence of the state in 1776...

 Mount Laurel rulings which required municipalities to develop affordable housing

Affordable housing

Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...

 for low- and middle-income families. This "second battle of Princeton" gathered so much attention that Gov. Thomas Kean

Thomas Kean

Thomas Howard Kean is an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 48th Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Kean is best known globally, however, for his 2002 appointment as Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, widely known as the...

 referred to it in his 1989 State of the State address, claiming the farm was "threatened by weapons the British never carried" and "what General Howe and his British troops could never do, townhouse

Townhouse

A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...

s ... are poised to do: win a battle over ... New Jersey." Later that year the parties settled, allowing Calton to build 300 properties on 73 acres (295,420.8 m²) while the preserving the Washington Oak and its nearby meadow as open space. The resulting development, Washington Oaks at Princeton, provides 60 low- and moderate-income condominium units mixed with 240 market-rate single-family detached houses, townhouses, and condominiums.