There is now growing on a portion of the field above the Flint Farm, an experimental patch of chestnut trees which may have blight resistance.
Thanks Don Don Seckler Sent via cell > On Nov 8, 2025, at 11:14 AM, cmontie montie.net <[email protected]> wrote: > > 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. > -- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to [email protected]. 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