Photo from: Annandale Chamber of Commerce
At Cape Cod Colonial Tables, we specialize in a few types of wood, but the one we truly hold close to our hearts is American chestnut. For centuries, American chestnut trees used to be abundant along the eastern part of the U.S. They grew to 100 feet tall and 10 plus feet in diameter. They could be found from Maine to Georgia, from Alabama all the way up to the Illinois plains. That was until a fungus from Japan, known as the blight, was introduced and quickly killed almost every tree standing. The American chestnut tree was greatly treasured for it's strength, straight grain and high rot resistance. All qualities which made it ideal for constructing most of the early American barns, houses, factories and more.
The blight was first discovered in 1904 at the Bronx Zoo in New York. It has been speculated that the fungus came from blight-resistant Japanese and Chinese chestnut trees that were imported to the zoo. Spread mostly by wind-borne spores, the blight enters the tree through small cracks in the bark which usually appear when the tree is a few years old. The fungus spread so quickly, it killed almost 3.5 billion trees over 200 million acres by 1950. Oddly enough, the root systems are not damaged and new trees sprout but always succumb to the blight within a few years.
There are currently several groups working on it, but despite the efforts thus far, the American chestnut tree has not successfully been brought back, leaving it virtually extinct in a sense. We, at Cape Cod Colonial Tables, use reclaimed American chestnut to construct beautiful one of a kind tables and benches. The wood is 150-200 years old. The grain is beautiful, the character immeasurable and the colors range from a light "blonde" to a deep almost reddish tone. There are no two boards, tables or benches alike.
The blight was first discovered in 1904 at the Bronx Zoo in New York. It has been speculated that the fungus came from blight-resistant Japanese and Chinese chestnut trees that were imported to the zoo. Spread mostly by wind-borne spores, the blight enters the tree through small cracks in the bark which usually appear when the tree is a few years old. The fungus spread so quickly, it killed almost 3.5 billion trees over 200 million acres by 1950. Oddly enough, the root systems are not damaged and new trees sprout but always succumb to the blight within a few years.
There are currently several groups working on it, but despite the efforts thus far, the American chestnut tree has not successfully been brought back, leaving it virtually extinct in a sense. We, at Cape Cod Colonial Tables, use reclaimed American chestnut to construct beautiful one of a kind tables and benches. The wood is 150-200 years old. The grain is beautiful, the character immeasurable and the colors range from a light "blonde" to a deep almost reddish tone. There are no two boards, tables or benches alike.
Will the blight end the chestnut?/The farmers rather guess not/It keeps smoldering at the roots/And sending up new shoots/Till another parasite/Shall come to end the blight.
~Robert Frost
~Robert Frost
Photo from: U.S. Forest Service
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Photo from: The Revivalist
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