‘Famous’ 300-year-old bur oak was saved from development. Windstorm knocked it down.

A massive bur oak that had lived through hundreds of years of storms, droughts and human development finally succumbed to Friday’s powerful winds.

The “famous” tree, off Harrodsburg Road near Military Pike, was blown down, Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe said in a Twitter post.

The tree was more than 300 years old and had been protected from multiple attempts at development nearby.

In 2008, when a developer wanted to build 193 townhomes on the site, residents formed a group called Friends of the Historic South Elkhorn Area Bur Oak Tree, and the plans for the development were ultimately dropped because of the tree and concerns about traffic.

In 2013, residents rallied again when Ball Homes proposed a development. Though that plan was approved, the tree was fenced off and protected.

“This tree has survived so many things: storms, droughts, fires, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War,” Dr. Loren Larson said at the time. “There is no statute of limitations of trees. We cannot lose this tree.”

Some Lexington residents were already mourning its loss Friday night.

“The view of this tree on a hill a short distance away always put a smile on my face as I waited for the light to change,” Kevin Murphy wrote in a Facebook post.

This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 11:00 PM.