For your consideration, here’s the quintessential reclaimed, hewn-hewn mantel beam. This piece checks all of the boxes. It is an authentic, mid-1800s hand-hewn vintage barn beam from when the original settlers were coming across the American landscape. The front face is free of holes except for a couple of original round peg holes. The top and bottom have rectangular mortise pockets — adding to the authenticity that this piece is the real deal. The ax marks are even and pleasantly deep. In addition — the wood is white oak. White oak has these great, natural warm neutrals that everyone is looking for to give us that cozy feel.

• This beam has been sanded, but no finish coat applied. We can sell as-is for $700 or we can finish for an additional $75. We can preserve this nice warm color, or the piece will naturally go very dark with our typical, high-end Rubio Monocoat finish.
• It is currently 68in long, we can cut to size at no additional charge.
• We could cut the top and bottom to make thinner or perhaps give it a more contemporary feel.
• We’re happy to leave the mortise pockets open or fill them with matching hewn material.

After nearly 20 years in the business, I still pause in awe to think about these beams. I just can’t imagine leaving Europe, crossing the Atlantic in a boat, and then making the trek across the country to find a place to settle down. And the journey certainly didn’t end there. These strong folks then swung axes to build barns and worked long hard hours to plow fields — just to pursue a dream and humble livelihood. This settlers certainly didn’t ever think that their barn beams would ever become hand-hewn mantels in some city folks’ homes.

We put in a lot of time and care to do our part, but we’re just the last caretakers after Mother Nature and the original builders. These great quality beams are amazing and are disappearing quickly.

The original beam came from an old barn in Lowell, Wisconsin, about 50 miles northwest of Madison. The barn was probably built in the mid- to late-1800s, when people were generally settling the country from East to West. So, this piece of wood is probably from the 1860s or 1870s. If you count the rings, you might find that the tree was born in the 1700s!

We can cut this mantel shorter and refinish the ends for an additional for no additional cost.

It can be shipped anywhere in the lower 48 states via FedEx Gnd for $150

About the tag – LOTTA NOISE is a playing card from a 1950s vintage set of Old Maid. These great old names are wonderful. Over the years, these cards have made some of the best mantel tags. We’ve scoured the web and I think we’ve found ever variation over the years. We also get a kick out of the fact that some of these old sets are not particularly politically correct by today’s standards.