Payne Whitney Gym Oak

These pens were turned from a black oak tree (Quercus coccinea) that grew in the courtyard between the Morse and Stiles Colleges. Anyone who walked through Morse and Stiles on their way to the Payne Whitney gym walked under the shade of this tree. Great effort was made to keep this tree alive during the renovations of the Colleges, but it fell victim to root damage and began dropping its limbs. It had to be removed as part of the Morse College renovation in 2010.

Only a few more European style pens remain from this tree.