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- The Mingo Oak (also known as the Mingo White Oak) was a white oak (Quercus alba) in the U.S. state of West Virginia. First recognized for its age and size in 1931, the Mingo Oak was the oldest and largest living white oak tree in the world until its death in 1938. The Mingo Oak stood in Mingo County, West Virginia, in a cove at the base of Trace Mountain near the headwaters of the Trace Fork of Pigeon Creek, a tributary stream of Tug Fork. The tree reached a height of over 200 feet (61 m), and its trunk was 145 feet (44 m) in height. Its crown measured 130 feet (40 m) in diameter and 60 feet (18 m) in height. The tree's trunk measured 9 feet 10 inches (3.00 m) in diameter and the circumference of its base measured 30 feet 9 inches (9.37 m). Assessments of its potential board lumber ranged from 15,000 feet (4,600 m) to 40,000 feet (12,000 m). Following the tree's felling in 1938, it was estimated to weigh approximately 5,400 long tons (5,500 t). While the tree had long been known about for its size, the unique status of the Mingo Oak was not recognized until 1931, when John Keadle and Leonard Bradshaw of Williamson took measurements of the tree, and found it to be the largest living white oak in the world. Various estimates place the Mingo Oak's seeding between 1354 and 1361 AD. Using borings from the tree, the Smithsonian Institution determined that the Mingo Oak was the oldest tree of its species. The Island Creek Coal Company, the North East Lumber Company, and the Cole and Crane Real Estate Trust leased 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) encompassing the tree to the West Virginia Game, Fish, and Forestry Commission for it to be managed as a state park for the life of the tree. The commission cleared the surrounding land and made improvements such as seating and picnic accommodations for visitors. By the spring of 1938, the Mingo Oak failed to produce leaves, and on May of that year, West Virginia state forester D. B. Griffin announced the tree's death. The prevailing theory is that the tree died from the release of poisonous gases and sulfur fumes from a burning spoil tip in nearby Trace Gap. The tree was felled with fanfare on September 23, 1938, with transections being sent to the Smithsonian Institution and the West Virginia State Museum. Under the terms of the Island Creek Coal Company's lease with the West Virginia Game, Fish, and Forestry Commission, the land's lease around the former tree reverted to the company following the tree's felling. (en)
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