HISTORIC WOOD

We were called to Cove, Oregon, to see a walnut tree that had been standing dead for several years. What we found was the largest walnut we’d ever encountered in the Pacific Northwest—66 inches in diameter at chest height, climbing 38 feet before its first branch. By its size and stature, it was probably approaching 100 years old.

The tree was left to grow on a ranch homesteaded in the late 1800s, and even then, it would have been a towering presence—left untouched to continue its slow, steady growth. Walnut trees in this region rarely reach such proportions, but this one had an advantage: it had taken root above an underground spring, its life sustained by a constant, unseen flow of water. Eventually, something shifted, and the tree declined, standing silent for four years before we were called to harvest it.

Now, its story continues in the form of straight-edged slabs, each with richly colored grain—perfect for tables that will carry forward the quiet grandeur of a tree that had stood for centuries.