Sparta Historical Society to remeasure champion white oak
Sparta. The Sparta Historical Society will mark the 10-year anniversary of its white oak’s New Jersey Champion Big Tree designation with a State Forestry Services presentation and official remeasurement Sept. 17 at the Van Kirk Homestead Museum.
| 07 Sep 2026 | 12:46
Forrest Jennings stands next to the tree. (
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Ten years after the Sparta Historical Society’s Van Kirk Homestead Museum welcomed New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection State Forestry Services officials to dedicate its white oak as an officially ranked New Jersey Champion Big Tree, the society will host another measurement ceremony Sept. 17.
The event will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Van Kirk Homestead Museum, 336 Main St. (Route 517) in Sparta. Visitors should use the Sparta Middle School driveway.
Forrest Jennings of the state’s Big Tree program will discuss the program, the importance of trees and the process used to measure champion trees before conducting the oak’s regularly scheduled 10-year remeasurement.
The original dedication was held Sept. 16, 2016, and featured Joseph C. Bennett, coordinator of the New Jersey Champion Big Tree Program, and other State Forestry Services officials. Sparta Mayor Christine Quinn and then-Sparta Historical Society President Rene Ferguson, who initiated the application process, also participated.
Sparta Town Council members have been invited to attend the 2026 event. Sparta Historical Society President MaryAnne Francisco is inviting the public to bring a chair and enjoy the outdoor presentation and the picturesque tree.
The event will be held rain or shine.
The Sparta Historical Society’s Van Kirk Homestead Museum is open from 1 to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth Sundays of each month from April through December, with a special gallery talk at 2 p.m.
For more information, including group tours, call 973-726-0883 or email SpartaHistoricalSocietyNJ@gmail.com.
