The Senior Oak Tree is one of Elon’s longest standing traditions. While the college was under construction, President Long told his son to supervise the clearing of underbrush and thinning of trees, leaving only the tall and straight trees. The only oak tree that was left that wasn’t tall and straight was the senior oak, which dramatically bent about 5 feet up from the ground. Although Long told his son to remove any bent trees, this one remained. The tree has also been called “the crooked oak” or “the hunchback oak”, and became a meeting place and site for class photographs. Ivy was planted around the base as a senior gift from the class of 1913. Lighting damaged the tree in 1980, and was removed after it shed its last leaves during the summer of 1981. Following it being cut down, eight hundred and four small blocks of the tree were given to major donors to the College.
