At 7:40 a.m. on December 9, 2015, felling began at St. Paul's Parish, Kent, for the 400-year-old United States Champion Swamp Chestnut Oak, Quercus michauxii, the largest of its species in the United States. Although other Maryland trees have been claimed to be older, the Big Tree Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service identified St. Paul's tree as the oldest tree that could be documented as such, with its date recorded in the early annals of the Parish as 1682. By 2010 the tree, long a glorious but aging presence, had been in noticeable decline for some time, losing several extraordinarily large limbs that fell dangerously close to passersby. Though it still appeared strong, it had become unbalanced and a liability, and after discussion and consultation, the St. Paul's Vestry decided it should be taken down. Its grandeur remained cherished by St. Paul's parishioners. The tree was over 400 years old and 106 feet tall, measuring 24 feet, 6 inches in circumference with an average crown spread of 92 feet.