Sycamore Tree - Burlington, NJ
Posted by: 
94RedRover
N 40° 04.846 W 074° 51.784
18T E 511674 N 4436730
In Burlington, New Jersey along the Riverbank on Delaware Street, the lawn in front of the VFW has an historical marker and a sole sycamore tree.
Waymark Code: WM67FR
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 04/17/2009
Views: 3
"On the lawn is a giant SYCAMORE TREE, one of the largest trees in the State. It measures 20 ft 3 in. in girth. To its trunk, it is generally believed, the ship Shield was moored in 1678 when it arrived with early settlers."
--- New Jersey: A Guide to its Present and Past, 1939
On December 10, 1678, the ship “Shield”, came to Burlington and tied up to a large tree here. History states the river froze overnight, forcing the passengers to walk ashore across the ice.
The “Shield” of Stockton was the first ship to navigate the Delaware from the Atlantic to Burlington, setting the stage for Burlington’s eventual emergence as the third largest port in the New World. It was here that the giant sycamore stood.
But, time is not biased. At the time this series was written, the giant sycamore still stood. Lost to disease, a vital piece of this town's history was gone. In 1952, on the 225th anniversary, the Burlington Kiwanis Club replanted a sycamore on the same sight, in memory and dedication to the founding of Burlington.