Its largest limb, estimated to weigh 35 short tons (31.5 tonnes) and six feet (1.8 meters) thick, fell earlier, on June 10, 1984.

[5] The Wye Oak drew public attention in 1909, when Maryland State Forester Fred W. Besley made the first official measurement of the tree.

The tree's exceptionally long life has been attributed to the efforts of park managers, who applied preventive measures such as fertilizer and insecticide as well as extensive pruning, cabling, and bracing of the branches.

At its creation, the park was a little over an acre in size, according to Wye Oak: The History of a Great Tree by Dickson J. Preston: [A]t 2:45 p.m. on September 20, 1939, just before the options were due to expire, the deeds transferring title to the State of Maryland were recorded at the Talbot County Courthouse in Easton.

[16] Wood distributed to artists and craftspersons was used to create carvings, sculptures, oil paintings, a three-dimensional collage, furnishings, and serving pieces; a gallery of the creations was made available online by the Department of Natural Resources.

Another artist took hundreds of small leaves from the tree, preserved them and made them into jewelry issued with a certificate of authenticity as being from The Wye Oak.