Historical Name: Clement
Common Name: Oak
Latin Name: Quercus alba
The first manned flight in North America occurred on January 9, 1793 when George Washington and others watched Jean-Pierre Blanchard take off from Philadelphia in a hydrogen filled balloon. Blanchard came to America from France to demonstrate this new technology, having gained fame as the first person to cross the English Channel in a balloon in 1785.
Blanchard’s flight from Philadelphia lasted for 46 minutes, ascended to a height of 5800 feet, and travelled east crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey. It landed in Deptford, (Gloucester County) NJ near an old White Oak tree on the Clement family farm. Farmers that observed the landing were understandably startled, and approached the balloon with raised pitchforks. Blanchard carried with him a letter from George Washington explaining the balloon and its occupants. Their fears allayed, the farmers welcomed Blanchard. This historic flight can also be considered the first air mail delivery in our country.
The tree that witnessed this event came to be known as the Clement Oak. Today the farm is long gone, having been replaced by a Walmart Super Store. The Clement Oak grows down an embankment behind the store. Unfortunately the tree has been in declining health for years and in 2020 it collapsed losing all its major branches leaving only a trunk and a few small shoots. An offspring of the tree, grown from an acorn collected years ago, was planted into UCNJ’s Historic Tree Grove in 2021.