A tree is one of nature’s truly sublime creations. However, just like anything, we’ve found a way to civilize them—to make them grow faster and yield more lumber. In that faster process, we’ve lost some of nature’s nobility, some of its beauty, and some of its strength. Prior to the 19th century, we would search for the most colossal trees to build our homes and barns, but today those trees no longer exist.

For Centuries these trees constantly competed for light and nutrients from the soil. This constant competition over hundreds of years produced what is often referred to as “old growth” timber. This old growth timber is stronger and denser than today’s farmed timber. A tree’s density and strength is determined by the space between its growth rings. The slower the tree grew the tighter the rings, and the denser and stronger the wood.

Today’s trees can have as few as 5 to 10 rings per inch. The annual growth rings in an old growth tree number from 30 to 40, sometimes even higher.

This denser stronger “old growth wood” is also superior because it is far more stable and less likely to warp or twist than green freshly cut wood. It has weathered, some for more than two centuries allowing nature to bring it to its ideal moisture percentage.

During the Industrial Revolution, the development of locomotives, steam skidders and band saws contributed to the demise of the majority of America’s ancient forests.

By the mid-1920’s most of the available virgin forest was logged. Now, only about 5 percent of the original virgin forest remains.

The majority of the wood that Antique Arbor reclaims is “old growth” wood harvested from these virgin forests; dense wood, strong wood, wood that took nature hundreds of years to mature properly: wood that cannot be replicated. Not the type of wood you would carve into thousands of bats for little leaguers,

But the type Ty Cobb would have by his side for a lifetime batting average of .367.

Matchless.