A famous old white oak tree once stood on Gulph Rd in front of the Wawa. It was there 100 years before William Penn arrived in 1682 and under which Washington’s Army passed on its way to Valley Forge in 1777. In 1933 the tree was named “The Drinker Oak” to honor the memory of Dr. Henry Sturgis Drinker, former President of the PA Forestry Department. A plaque was installed to commemorate the event. Although efforts were made to prune, feed, and care for the magnificent tree, age and disease combined with the rapid growth in UM forced its removal on December 2, 1982. The UM Park and Historic Foundation planted a second oak in its place, but sadly it did not last long.
Fact published 7/1/16 Upper Merion Township E-Newsletter
The Drinker-Washington Oak, faithfully reproduced by John Peirce shortly before 1957. R.R. Titus of Oaks, Pa, commissioned this painting and a copy was sent to the family of A.H. Crockett, on whose property it grew. (Courtesy of the Upper Merion Park & Historic Foundation.)