P.E.I.'s oldest tree falls - a sapling when Cartier visited 1534

     After standing tall for near 500 years, the large american white elm tree in eastern Prince Edward Island fell during a recent wind storm.  The tree was thought to be the oldest and tallest on the Island.
     Quite a few years ago a bore sample was taken to determine its age  - it was estimated to have been a young sapling when Jacques Cartier visited the Island in 1534.  It's amazing how the tree survived the great forest clearing of the 1800s when the vast majority of the Island's forest was cleared and harvested for farming and shipbuilding.

An ancient P.E.I. tree was knocked down during a recent wind storm on the Dixon property in East Baltic. - Submitted photo to the Guardian.
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The following article appeared on the Guardian newspaper's website today...
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2013-12-10/article-3538232/Wind-takes-down-500-year-old-tree/1
Wind takes down 500-year-old tree

by Steve Sharratt, Dec. 10, 2013 

SOURIS — The recent wind storm that blew record speeds at East Point brought down a tree that was a mere sapling when Jacques Cartier first visited P.E.I. in 1534.  The “Big Tree” is an American White Elm located in Glencordale and was nearing 500 yeas of age. It was located on property owned by the Dixon family of East Baltic.  According to the Souris and Area Wildlife Federation, which announced the find, the tree was approximately 18 feet in circumference and withstood fires and natural disasters over the years. One resident estimated is easily hovered over 40 metres (130 feet) high .  "It was visited by many on an annual basis as folks wanted to admire this enormous tree," the federation says, noting that North Lake resident Melissa MacInnis, who was visiting the site, delivered the news.