A history of Pecky Sinker Cypress "Swamp Wood"- Why it is my favorite to work with

"Buried Treasure"

Pecky Sinker Cypress Wood Filled with Epoxy Resin

In the 1800's and 1900's, there was an Industrial Cypress Harvesting Boom that spanned from the swamps of Florida thorough the Bayous of Louisiana and into the lower Mississippi valley.

Loggers harvested the cypress BY HAND using axes and saws- THOSE WERE MEN - and would let the wood dry out for up to two years to become light enough before placing the logs into the Mississippi River, where they would then float downstream to the mills.

HOWEVER, it is estimated that nearly 10-20% of the harvested logs never made it to the mills and instead, sunk to the bottom of the river, settling into the mud and silt, where they would sit and stew for some 150 years. This is what gives rise to the name Pecky "Sinker" Cypress.

FUN FACT- Because Sinker Cypress has been sitting in the water for a century- which begins a type of preservation process for the wood- it is regarded as one of the world's most rot and insect resistant woods!

Now, various companies have begun salvaging these buried treasures using high-tech sonar location and once again, sending them off to mills around the world.