Visitors were pausing Sunday by the stump Watch video
BERNARDS -- Now only a memory, a 600-year-old great white oak tree was still drawing attention Sunday.
Six days after safety concerns prompted the removal of a tree under which George Washington once stood, visitors were pausing by the large stump that remains.
"It was an icon," Jared Lewis told NJ Advance Media.
One visitor used a measuring tape on the stump, located on the grounds of the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church, and reported it was eight feet across in places.
The stump is not the only reminder of the tree, whose deterioration due to age had prompted concerns of a collapse.
A 16-year-old white oak, grown from acorns collected from the great white oak was recently planted on the church grounds.
The Kanne family -- Christine and Josh Kanne and their two children -- left on vacation before the tree's removal.
They returned on Sunday to check out the aftermath.
"It's so sad, it was here when we left," Christine Kanne said of the tree, which was believed to be among the oldest in the United States.
Rob Jennings can be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.