The Sacred Oak is a more-than-500-year-old Chinkapin Oak located in the Oley Valley, Pennsylvania. It sits in a grove of trees just off Friedensburg Road.
According to Native-American legend, a beautiful woman, the wife of a powerful chief, became very ill. All the tribe's medicine men were called in; they "pow-wowed" and administered herbal medicines, to no effect. Slowly, the chief's wife became weaker and sicker. Finally, desperate for a cure, the young chief traveled to the Sacred Oak and there prayed to the Great Spirit for his wife to be saved. Amazingly, when he returned to camp, his wife was well again. Several years went by and the tribe was threatened by a hostile tribe. Once again, the chief traveled to the Sacred Oak and prayed to the Great Spirit, who gave him guidance. The chief gathered blankets and beads and journeyed to the enemy's camp. His gifts were accepted, and before he left, he smoked the pipe of peace with the chief of the other tribe. From then on, the Sacred Oak was looked upon as the shrine tree of the Delaware Indians.[1][2] They went to the Sacred Oak in times of trouble to pray, and legend has it that help was always given to them. Legend says that the oak also has caused adverse effects to ones who have wronged or disrespected the oak. According to legend, the son of a high Lenape chief once urinated on the oak. Later that same day the ten-year-old disappeared into the woods of Oley never to be found.