600-year-old tree, one of nation's oldest, is cut down in Bernards

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

A contractor from Keiling Tree Care dangles above the ground using a chainsaw to cut limbs from a historic oak tree. After calling the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

A contractor looks up at the historic oak tree at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards that called the graveyard its home for the past 600 years. Crews Monday at the church began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

A contractor from Keiling Tree Care dangles above the ground using a chainsaw to cut limbs from a historic oak tree. After calling the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

A contractor from Keiling Tree Care dangles above the ground using a chainsaw to cut limbs from a historic oak tree. After calling the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ

April Rauscher of Bernards takes a selfie with her children Angela, 9, and Jake, 7 in front of a church sign saying, 'Thank you God for the gift of our oak tree.' After calling a church graveyard home for the past 600 years, crews Monday at the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bernards began removing an old oak tree, believed to be among the oldest in the nation and according to legend, was a picnic site for George Washington. April 24, 2017, Basking Ridge, NJ