What is the oldest tree in Philadelphia?

The date rests on a specific claim rather than a general one. In 1785, William Hamilton of The Woodlands shipped three ginkgo saplings from London, the first of their kind to reach North America. He kept two at his own estate and gave the third to his friend William Bartram, whose garden on the Schuylkill was already the oldest botanic garden on the continent. Both of Hamilton's trees at The Woodlands were cut down in the 1980s, leaving Bartram's as the only survivor and the oldest ginkgo known in the country. Wikipedia and the garden's own history agree closely on this, though both likely draw on the same record rather than two independent counts, which is why the entry carries a flag. It is a male tree, sparing the garden a problem: ginkgoes are dioecious, and only females produce the foul-smelling seed the species is known for. No tree-level coordinates exist, so the pin marks the general area east of the Bartram Barn. The garden is free and open every day, dawn to dusk; the Woodland Avenue trolley (route 34) stops within a 10 minute walk, and SEPTA buses 12 and 64 also serve the area.