At a recent Lincoln Historical Society event at Flint Farm, there were a couple really interesting talks about the history of this family farm and its buildings. With operations reaching back to the 1600’s, it’s remarkable to consider its history! To live in Lincoln and not get familiar with its history is really only to half-live here in a way—as I’m beginning to learn myself, by dipping into its past.
I don’t remember the precise details from one of the Flint Farm talks, but I recall mention of a wood mill on the property at one time—and as the chestnut blight ravaged nearby forests in the early 1900’s, this mill salvaged the wood from the dying trees, before nothing was left. It was a resourceful response to a tragedy—to at least preserve this prized wood by milling it for furniture, cabinetry, etc… As I walk through the woods near my home, I regularly encounter American Chestnut Trees that sprout from old roots, only to wither—and while it saddens me to see them struggle, I continue to hold out hope for advances in science that may someday help them return to their former glory. Thoreau’s descriptions of “boundless chestnut woods” in Concord and Lincoln—trees growing over 100 feet tall and producing prodigious amounts of nuts—is mind blowing to imagine. How heartbreaking and scary it must have been to see these majestic giants succumb to disease. And: how good that the Flints and other locals salvaged what they could from the disaster by milling the wood—right here in Lincoln—into something more lasting. > Message: 36 > Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2025 18:23:05 -0500 > From: Sara Mattes <[email protected]> > To: Virginia Goodwin <[email protected]> > Cc: Sara Mattes <[email protected]>, Nick Gardner <[email protected]>, > Lincoln Talk <[email protected]>, Margaret Flint > <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] Could this be a future for the fallen trees > of Lincoln? > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > The limber mill at Red Rail was a beloved Lincoln institution. > It was a small, locally owned and operated business. > > Much downed wood was put to good use, through the work of that mill. > That wood lived to see another use?great recycling. > > My tree will live on and give further service for generations to come, thanks > to the mill at Red Rail. > > > >> On Nov 7, 2025, at 8:40?AM, Virginia Goodwin <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> Also, lumber milling is heavy industry, and it?s filthy, and it smells to >> high heaven. Where in the greater Boston area would anyone want that? The >> land is too valuable for residential properties to clear a whole swath for >> the lumber mill and its odor. Although for those interested in bringing down >> property values, it would be extremely effective? >>> On Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 8:36?AM Nick Gardner <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> Not sure I'd say reference, but like most industry, wood processing has >>> gotten more consolidated over time, moving to larger, more automated >>> facilities. There aren't enough high quality trees chopped down in the area >>> to justify a larger sawmill. >>> -Nick >>>> On Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 8:19?AM Donald seckler via Lincoln >>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>> Is there a reference explaining the disappearance of local sawmills? It?s >>>> such a shame to see trees tossed into a wood chipper for want of a nearby >>>> facility. >>>> Thanks. >>>> Don Seckler >>>> Sent via cell >>>>>> On Nov 7, 2025, at 8:05?AM, Greta Eckhardt via Lincoln >>>>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>>> ? >>>>> Wonderful idea, Margaret! How can we make this happen? >>>>> Greta Eckhardt >>>>> From: Lincoln <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> On Behalf Of Margaret Flint >>>>> Sent: Friday, November 7, 2025 7:37 AM >>>>> To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> Subject: [LincolnTalk] Could this be a future for the fallen trees of >>>>> Lincoln? >>>>> UPDATES >>>>> CAMPUS & BUILDINGS >>>>> NATURE / NATURAL RESOURCES >>>>> Coach Barn Stories: From Trees to Tables >>>>> <https://shelburnefarms.org/about/staff-and-board/holly-brough> >>>>> Posted by Holly Brough >>>>> <https://shelburnefarms.org/about/staff-and-board/holly-brough> >>>>> Director of Communications >>>>> November 6, 2025 >>>>> All of the tables in the new Coach Barn are made from wood harvested at >>>>> Shelburne Farms. Most of that wood is poplar. John Monks of Vermont Tree >>>>> Goods <https://treegoods.com/>, the man behind the tables, explains why >>>>> that?s the case, and what it means. Note: The interview has been edited >>>>> for length and clarity. >>>>> How did you become involved in making the tables for the Coach Barn? >>>>> Back in 2018, I learned that Shelburne Farms was taking down big trees >>>>> along Poplar Drive >>>>> <https://shelburnefarms.org/about/news-and-stories/farewell-poplar-drive> >>>>> because they were starting to die, and were a hazard. But the Farm >>>>> couldn?t find anybody to mill them, so they were going to be left to rot >>>>> in the woods. I called and met with Marshall Webb to look at the trees. >>>>> ?We could mill them,? I said. In his mind and in my mind, to cut them and >>>>> let them rot was wrong. >>>>> There were about 20 massive trees. We trucked them over to my shop, and >>>>> slowly milled them into big slabs with natural edges. We air-dried the >>>>> slabs for a couple of years, then kiln-dried them, then stacked and >>>>> stored them. >>>>> John Monks of Vermont Tree Goods among stacked slabs of Shelburne Farms >>>>> poplar in his workshop, and standing next to a commemorative slab >>>>> installed in the Coach Barn. >>>>> Marshall had commissioned a few Farm tables before he passed, but after a >>>>> few years, we started wondering, ?What are we going to do with all this?? >>>>> Then early in 2025, Shelburne Farms said, ?We have this project at the >>>>> Coach Barn, and we need lots of tables.? I said, ?Okay, we've got lots of >>>>> your wood!? >>>>> This summer we brought the wood slabs to Vermont Farm Table >>>>> <https://www.vermontfarmtable.com/> in Bristol, and as a production shop, >>>>> they built and assembled all the tables. >>>>> How were you able to mill such big trees? >>>>> I had built this huge sawmill that's effectively a huge electric >>>>> chainsaw. It's very unconventional. Most commercial sawmills don't want >>>>> trees over about 24 inches in diameter, and a lot of these poplars were >>>>> four feet or more wide?way beyond what any local commercial sawmills can >>>>> handle. >>>>> The poplar table in the Meeting Room of the Coach Barn. >>>>> How did you get involved in milling such big trees? >>>>> I was a house builder for many years, and started making some furniture >>>>> for family and friends. But in 2010 we had a fire and lost all our >>>>> belongings. (It was horrible, but thankfully nobody got hurt.) I set out >>>>> to replace some of the furniture that I had built, and I wanted to make a >>>>> large live-edge dining table. I couldn't really find the wood that I >>>>> wanted, so I went to a couple of tree service companies and asked them >>>>> what they did with the big trees they cut. One guy took me behind their >>>>> shop and pointed at this huge pile of big logs and said, ?We'll just burn >>>>> it all this winter to make it go away.? Right then I knew what my mission >>>>> was, because, to me, wasting all that wood was so wrong. That day really >>>>> was sort of a life changing moment for me. >>>>> Several coffee tables soon after their arrival at the Coach Barn. The >>>>> round ones are made of poplar. The tables with the dramatic notched edges >>>>> are made of horse chestnut trees also harvested at Shelburne Farms. >>>>> Why was using the wood from Poplar Drive important to you? >>>>> Well, for a number of reasons. One is environmental. Wood is >>>>> approximately 50% carbon by weight, and a lot of people don't realize >>>>> that if you let a tree rot, over 90% of its carbon will become carbon >>>>> dioxide. There's this misconception that all the carbon just gets >>>>> reabsorbed into the dirt and that's not the case. I have no idea what all >>>>> those trees weighed--many, many tons?but they represented many, many tons >>>>> of carbon dioxide. >>>>> The other main reason for me is aesthetics. Even though cottonwood is not >>>>> considered high value in the lumber world, it's really quite beautiful >>>>> stuff, as you can see by the tables. To throw out such beauty is like >>>>> throwing out masterpieces. >>>>> And then there?s a spiritual side to it all. I read somewhere that we >>>>> share half our DNA with trees. So in a way, we're related to them. We're >>>>> descended from whoever they are descended from. We're all Earthlings. >>>>> One of the round-top tables in the West Hall, all made of Shelburne Farms >>>>> poplar by Vermont Farm Table. "Some of these tables look like Jupiter to >>>>> me," chuckles John, referring to the dark whorls and character marks in >>>>> the wood. >>>>> How does this project fit into your overall approach to harvesting trees? >>>>> >>>>> The traditional forestry model is based on what they call a tree?s >>>>> ?financial maturity?: once a tree is big enough to make a profit on it, >>>>> you go in the woods and cut it. But I strongly believe that phrase should >>>>> be replaced with ?carbon maturity.? >>>>> Most trees die slowly. They may still be alive, but they're clearly at >>>>> that end point. We've all seen it?like a big old maple tree in your yard >>>>> losing one limb and then another. I call that point their peak carbon >>>>> maturity. To me, if you're going to harvest a tree, that's the time to do >>>>> it. >>>>> It turns out that many trees in our communities, whether they?re along a >>>>> roadside or in people?s yards, are peak carbon trees. And if you look at >>>>> their board footage, I believe that it's greater than the amount of wood >>>>> we're taking out of the forests. We're basically wasting the vast >>>>> majority of these ?carbon mature? trees, and at the same time, cutting >>>>> down relatively young trees in the forest. >>>>> I see us as finding homes for unwanted trees. The more homes we find, the >>>>> more trees we get to recycle. It's really a very simple concept. That?s >>>>> the motivation for me. >>>>> How do you hope people will experience or respond to these tables? >>>>> I don't think there's any one message. Hopefully, people will think, >>>>> ?Wow, these are beautiful. And isn't it wonderful that when those trees >>>>> had to come down they were preserved, and we can continue to see their >>>>> beauty, especially their interior beauty.? >>>>> When I started this business, I just wanted to make beautiful tables. As >>>>> time has gone on, my motivation has shifted. Now it's much more about the >>>>> environment and what we do with trees, especially trees coming out of our >>>>> communities. I'm hoping very much that the carbon impact of recycling >>>>> these trees is stressed. We shouldn't be viewing them as just part of the >>>>> waste stream. >>>>> John Monks beside one of the round poplar tables in the West Hall. >>>>> How does it feel to have these tables here as part of the Coach Barn? >>>>> For the wood to return to the Farm and be here for generations to come is >>>>> the best possible scenario. I'm honored that I played a role in it. >>>>> But in many ways, I see this really as Marshall's gift. When there >>>>> weren?t the resources to get the trees milled, he made it happen. We were >>>>> kindred spirits when it came to the trees. For me more than anything, >>>>> it's about Marshall. >>>>> Marshall Webb in 2018, counting the age rings of one of the recently cut >>>>> poplars. >>>>> Tags >>>>> Updates <https://shelburnefarms.org/taxonomy/term/41> >>>>> Campus & Buildings <https://shelburnefarms.org/taxonomy/term/6> >>>>> Nature / Natural Resources <https://shelburnefarms.org/taxonomy/term/8> >>>>> Comments >>>>> Submitted by Ken and Susie Mandelbaum on Thu , 11/6/2025 - 07:33 PM >>>>> A beautiful way to honor Marshall. We miss him. >>>>> Reply >>>>> <https://shelburnefarms.org/comment/reply/node/4120/field_comments/15754> >>>>> Submitted by Sue Louchheim on Thu , 11/6/2025 - 07:40 PM >>>>> AWESOME!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS BEAUTIFUL STORY!!! >>>>> Reply >>>>> <https://shelburnefarms.org/comment/reply/node/4120/field_comments/15755> >>>>> Submitted by Jacques-Paul Marton on Thu , 11/6/2025 - 07:47 PM >>>>> This is a beautiful and brilliant story. Expressed with Nature's >>>>> eloquence. So much of Marshall's spirit is embedded in the tables. Those >>>>> statuesque Poplars that once served as one Nature's ambassadors to the >>>>> Farm Barn have returned. >>>>> Thank you, Mr. Monks. Your knowledge, skill, and passion for your craft >>>>> is very >>>>> -- >>>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>>> To post, send mail to [email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>. >>>>> Browse the archives at >>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>> -- -- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
