Historical Name: Mercer
Common Name: White Oak
Latin Name: Quercus alba
The Mercer White Oak once grew in the middle of the 85 acre Princeton Battlefield Park. The ancient tree witnessed one of the American Revolution’s pivotal battles that took place around it on January 3, 1777. George Washington’s army had been victorious at Trenton a little over a week earlier and now Brigadier General Hugh Mercer and his soldiers engaged the British on the farm of Quaker Thomas Clarke. Mercer was severely wounded and legend has it that he was attended to beneath the tree, insisting that he remain on the battlefield until victory was assured. Once the British retreated Mercer was cared for at the Clarke farmhouse, but he died nine days later. Our state’s Mercer County was named in his honor.
The Mercer Oak was one of the most prominent features of the park. The 250-300 year old tree was in poor shape, but it still came as a surprise to most people when it completely collapsed and died on March 3, 2000. One of its offspring was planted at that exact location to replace it. Another of its offspring, grown from an acorn collected from the Mercer Oak a few years before its demise, can be found in UCNJ’s Historic Tree Grove. It was planted there in 2007.