 In New Brunswick , New Jersey , Kilmer 's hometown , the claim involved a large white oak on the Cook College campus ( now the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences ) , at Rutgers University . This tree , the " Kilmer Oak " , was estimated to be over 300 years old . Because it had been weakened by age and disease , the Kilmer Oak was removed in 1963 , and in reporting by The New York Times and other newspapers the local tradition was repeated with the claim that " Rutgers said it could not prove that Kilmer had been inspired by the oak . " Currently , <unk> from <unk> of the historic tree are being grown at the site , throughout the Middlesex County and central New Jersey , as well as in major <unk> around the United States . The remains of the original Kilmer Oak are presently kept in storage at Rutgers University . 
