In 1928, a centuries-old live oak tree was adorned with colored lights in Hilton Park, north of downtown Wilmington. The festive event launched a tradition lasting over 80 years in which the city boasted of having “The World’s Largest Living Community Christmas Tree.” The mighty oak was said to measure at least 75 feet tall and 110 feet wide. The idea for the living Christmas tree is attributed to James E.L. “Jimmie” Wade, a gregarious city works commissioner who later became mayor of Wilmington. Reports state that at the tree’s height of popularity, around 1959, as many as 150,000 people came to the lighting ceremony. After living a good, noble life of approximately 400 years, the tree succumbed to weather damage and age and was taken down by the city in November 2015. Its last lighting was 2009.
Lighting The Largest Living Christmas Tree (1928)
