Rustic, strong, and deeply rooted in our history, American chestnut is an exquisite wood. Once dominating our eastern forests, and providing a seemingly endless supply of straight-grained, decay-resistant wood, these trees fell to an Asian-based fungal blight at the turn of the 20th century that all but wiped out the species. The blight left behind a mass of fallen timbers used for countless homes and buildings throughout the remainder of the century. Since 1983, the American Chestnut Foundation has been working to restore these trees. The foundation uses the backcross breeding method in an effort utilize the blight-resistant characteristics of the Chinese chestnut, while still maintaining the integrity of the American species. While the foundation works to restore balance to our forest ecosystem, reSAWN is working to preserve and reclaim chestnut from historic structures, recapturing the beauty of these antique woods. WORMWOOD , so named for the generous amount of worm holes found throughout the wood, includes defining character marks such as mineral staining, nail holes, and knots, and ranges in color from light tans to deep browns. See the beauty of WORMWOOD reclaimed chestnut on display in the Ambler Boiler House project, and this PA-based Barn Renovation.
Image: reSAWN’s WORMWOOD from the enCORE collection