American white oak) barrels. Culture White oak has served as the official state tree of Illinois after selection by a vote of school children. There are two "official" white oaks serving as state trees, one located on the grounds of the governor's mansion, and the other in a schoolyard in the town of Rochelle. The white oak is also the state tree of Connecticut and Maryland. The Wye Oak, probably the oldest living white oak until it fell because of a thunderstorm on June 6, 2002, was the honorary state tree of Maryland. Being the subject of a legend as old as the colony itself, the Charter Oak of Hartford, Connecticut is one of the most famous white oaks in America. An image of the tree now adorns the reverse side of the Connecticut state quarter. The white oak from the movie The Shawshank Redemption, known as the "Shawshank tree" and the "Tree of Hope", was estimated to be more than 200 years old when it fell. The tree is seen during the last ten minutes of the movie. As the movie gained fame, the tree became popular as well, and used to attract tens of thousands of movie fans and tourists every year. A portion of the tree came down on July 29, 2011, when the tree was split by lightning during a storm. The remaining half of the tree fell during heavy winds just short of five years later, on July 22, 2016. The Bedford Oak is a 500-year-old white oak tree that sits in the town of Bedford in New York. It is the mascot of the town. It sits at the corner of the Hook Road and the old Bedford Road (now Cantitoe Street). The ground the tree stands on was deeded to the Town of Bedford in 1942 by Harold Whitman in memory of his wife, Georgia Squires Whitman. It has seen Westchester history from Native American settlements to the Revolutionary War to modern times. See also Central and southern Appalachian montane oak forest Creek Council Oak Tree, historic landmark representing Tulsa, Oklahoma's founding by the Lochapoka Tribal Town of the Creek Nation Door Tree, historic and unique white oak in Hamden, Connecticut (lost to vandalism in 2019) Linden Oak, possibly the largest living white oak in the United States References External links Taxonomy Genetics Distribution Distribution Map, Quercus alba at Flora of North America,