Is the trunk of Minneapolis’ once-oldest tree still lying on the site where the tree is memorialized?

Surrounded by overgrowth, the fallen trunk of an over 300-year-old tree can be found in a secluded field at the corner of West River Parkway and Franklin Terrace in Minneapolis’ Seward neighborhood. 

Once Minneapolis’ oldest tree, the bur oak was declared dead and cut down in 2010. A new bur oak was planted in its place, but the site remains a memorial for the former oak. The city left remains of the trunk where the tree once stood, marking the spot with a plaque inscribed with “Site of oldest tree in Minneapolis.” 

While some old newspaper clippings suggest the tree was around 700 years old, Minneapolis Park Board foresters have since said the oak was much younger. The tree was likely a sapling when Father Louis Hennepin first came to what would become Minneapolis in 1680. The plaque by the tree’s felled trunk stated the tree’s lifespan was 333 years.