The Mercer Oak was a large white oak tree that stood in Princeton Battlefield State Park in Princeton, New Jersey. The tree was about 300 years old when it was torn by strong winds in March 2000. It was the emblem of Princeton Township and appeared on the seal of the township. The tree is also the key element of the seal of Mercer County, New Jersey.^{[citation needed]}

The Mercer Oak was named after Hugh Mercer, a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. During the Battle of Princeton, Mercer was stabbed by an English soldier's bayonet. According to legend, he was unwilling to abandon his troops, and rested on the tree's trunk while they stood their ground. After the battle, Mercer was taken to the Clarke House where he died from his injuries nine days later.^{[citation needed]}

After a lightning storm in 1973 dropped a large branch of the original "Mercer Oak," Ned Brown, a local artisan cabinet fabricator from Skillman, NJ, had the insight to preserve some of the lumber. Pieces of the preserved lumber were later integrated into the woodwork of a local restaurant. The inlay includes the craftsman's representation of a silhouette of the oak tree, as well as sections of oak throughout the bar. The balance of the fallen branches were left in the hands of Princeton's Historical Society.^{[citation needed]}

On March 3, 2000, a wind storm felled the oak's last four branches. For public safety reasons, arborists cut off the remnants of the trunk the day after the tree fell. Following the tree's death, several scions from the tree were planted around the battlefield. In May 2000, an 8-foot sapling grown from a Mercer Oak acorn was planted inside the stump of the former tree.^{[citation needed]}

• List of individual trees

• Princeton Township - Mercer Oak
• Rooted in history, and leaving a legacy - The Daily Princetonian
• From storied Mercer Oak, a sapling grows - Princeton Packet OnLine News

v t e Princeton, New Jersey
Historic districts	Princeton Historic District Stony Brook Village Jugtown King's Highway Kingston Mill Mountain Avenue
Former municipalities	Borough of Princeton Princeton Township
Public schools	Princeton Public Schools Princeton High School Witherspoon Street School for Colored Children (defunct) Princeton Charter School
Independent schools	Hun School Lewis School Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart Princeton Day Princeton Friends Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science St. Paul's Stuart Country Day
Colleges and universities	Princeton University (people) Princeton Theological Seminary Westminster Choir College Evelyn College for Women (defunct)
Other education	Institute for Advanced Study Princeton Community Japanese Language School Princeton Public Library Princeton University Art Museum Witherspoon Institute
Places of worship	Miller Chapel Nassau Christian Center Nassau Presbyterian Princeton United Methodist Princeton University Chapel Stone Hill Church Stony Brook Meeting House Trinity Episcopal
Parks and recreation	Delaware and Raritan Canal Herrontown Woods Arboretum Jasna Polana Lake Carnegie Marquand Park Mountain Lakes Preserve Princeton Battlefield
Economy	Nassau Street Palmer Square Elements Hoagie Haven Nassau Club Nassau Inn Peacock Inn Princeton Record Exchange Triumph Brewing Princeton Shopping Center Tiger Transit
Performing arts	Alexander Hall Garden Theatre McCarter Theatre Princeton Symphony Orchestra Williamson Voices
Media	I Grew Up in Princeton Comedy Minus One Princeton Community Television Princeton Packet Town Topics
Other landmarks	Albert Einstein House Drumthwacket Joseph Henry House Donald Grant Herring Estate Maclean House Maybury Hill Mercer Oak Morven Nassau Hall Princeton Battle Monument Princeton Cemetery Princeton Railroad Station Prospect House Tusculum Cottage Club Washington Oak Westland Mansion
Princeton addressed landmarks outside the municipality	American Boychoir School (defunct) Chapin School Educational Testing Service Forrestal Village MarketFair Mall Princeton Airport Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center (formerly located on Witherspoon Street, now in neighboring Plainsboro) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Robert Wood Johnson Foundation St. Joseph's Seminary (in Plainsboro; defunct) Sarnoff Corporation Terhune Orchards Washington Road Elm Allée Wilberforce School
See also: Princeton University and National Register of Historic Places listings in Mercer County, New Jersey

40°19′47″N 74°40′29″W / 40.3297°N 74.6746°W / 40.3297; -74.6746