ENTS,

 

On  Monday May 18, 2009 I visited the Union Church in Philipsburg , Centre County, PA.  It is located on east Pesqueisle Street.  A history of the town is available online at:  http://www.philipsburgpa.org/history/index.shtml  "The town was originally named Moshannontown - Moshannon is derived from an Indian word meaning "dark water" - and was founded in 1797. In 1809 the name was changed to Philipsburg in honor of the owner of the land. at the time." The second oldest structure in the town still standing is the Union Church, also known as the "Old Mud Church."  http://www.philipsburgpa.org/history/historicalsites/unionchurch.shtml  "The original meetinghouse was a log structure. It was built in 1820 and was contained, in part, in the remodeled Union Church of 1842."  There are a number of large trees in the churchyard/graveyard behind the church.  In response to an email I received a letter from Ginny Smith, President of the Philipsburg Historical Foundation.  In this letter she writes"

 

 The Union Church

 

I parked behind the church yard and walked around to the front to enter.  The oak tree was not a disappointment.  There is a massive column of wood forming the trunk of this white oak tree.  I measured it to be 14' 3" in girth.  The best height shot was looking up from underneath with a height of 97.5' tall.  The largest oak trees in terms of trunk volume in the northeast seems to be white oak (Quercus alba).  it would be interesting to do a reticle measurement of the volume of this particular tree. 

 

 14' 3" girth white oak

 

There are a number of other large trees in the church yard.  The largest are several more oaks.  There is the decaying remnant of a stump in the front corner of the church yard that likely was another very large oak tree.

 

Name	Species	Height (ft)	Girth (ft. in.)
White oak	Quercus alba	97.5	14' 3"
White oak	Quercus alba	84	9' 4"
Red Oak	Quercus rubra	90	12' 8"
Red Oak	Quercus rubra	87	11' 6"

 

 Red Oak, girth 12' 8"

 

There also are red maple, and several hemlocks.  These are all in the 80 to 90 foot tall range in height and of modest girths.  Across the road from the church in Rush township is a property that is reportedly 8 to 10 acres in size that also has never been logged.  I could see another massive oak tree on the edge of a field, but did not measure anything on this property yet.  It is privately owned and I have not yet managed to contact the owners. 

 

Edward Frank