We finished this tan gray mantel with just a hard wax finish. It is not a durable as many finishes, but it is one of the best ways to keep a lighter color like this. This particular mantel is a hand hewn Rock Elm. There are 3 common types of elm in Minnesota — American (white), Red, and Rock. Rock probably accounts for less than 10% of the total elm population at the time. Rock Elm is virtually unavailable in the modern market. It is just too slow growing. This beam is both Rock Elm and hand hewn.

In one of the pictures, you can see a hand hewn pine beam. This rock elm piece was in a similar position. It was actually on it’s 2nd reuse in the early 1900s barn. One would venture a safe guess that the beam came from an earlier, smaller barn or granary at the same location. The beam probably dates back to the 1800s when the pioneers were just settling these lands.

The source barn was 19-teens barn near Waconia, Minnesota. The old barn was about 2 or 3 miles from Swedish immigrant, Andrew Peterson, Farm. The Andrew Peterson farm became famous, particularly in Sweden, after the meticulous journals he kept became the basis for Vilhelm Moberg’s Emigrants book series.

The tag on this mantel dates back from World War II. I think regular, metal Brillo pads were taken off the market during the war to conserve metal. Instead, they offered cleansing powder.