From Matthies's Book: "This white oak, according to legend, was used as a target by the American soldiers in 1812 when they marched to New London and under it the Evangelist Whitfield preached. The tree stands on New London Turnpike and has been owned by the Buck family for three generations. It has a circumference of eighteen feet, nine inches at the ground, and is estimated to be between three and four hundred years old."