Imagine a rustic wood mantel that tells the story of a bygone era, when men swung axes to turn logs into beams — a mantel that bears the unique marks of time and nature, with its varying colors and rustic character. That’s this mantel! Each piece is unique, with its own unique grain pattern and color variations.

On this particular mantel, the sapwood, the lighter-colored wood beneath the bark, flows around the darker heartwood, creating a wide range of color and flow. On all three sides of the mantel, you’ll see authentic, original ax marks from the 1800s, when the beam was hand-hewn. These marks add to the mantel’s rustic charm and authenticity.

As a further testament to its history as a barn beam, the mantel has a filled mortise pocket on the top, where two beams were once joined together. There are also a couple of associated peg holes on the face that we left intact as well.

We’ve finished the mantel with Rubio Monocoat, a hardwax oil that gives it a natural sheen. This finish is not too dull or too shiny, but just right to enhance the wood’s natural beauty.

The dimensions of this rustic wood mantel are currently 8 inches tall x 7 inches deep x 66.5 inches long. We can cut this mantel shorter and refinish the ends for an additional for no additional cost. Full disclosure, the back on this one is ugly, but it’s the back and will never be seen. We could have cut it down and cleaned it up, even more, but we didn’t want to lose the depth.

This rustic wood fireplace mantel is one of a batch of beams dating back to the 1800s that came from Red Wing, Minnesota. We don’t know much about the original building, but Red Wing was one of the first cities in Minnesota, thanks to its location on the Mississippi River. Steamboats and sawmills were big business in the area in the 1850s, so it’s likely that this piece was cut and hewn before sawmill lumber was widely available. Based on the location, it is most likely older than most of our other hand-hewn wood, which is usually from the late-1800s.

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

About the tag – Curtis Brothers Blue Label Ketchup was founded in 1868 and was one of the largest ketchup and preserves producing firms in the early 1900s. In the early 1900s, there was a general trend away from food preservatives in the United States, and benzoate of soda was a common preservative in many condiments, including Curtice Brothers’ ketchup. When the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was passed, it required that all food products be labeled with their ingredients. Curtis Brothers refused to remove ingredients and Heintz gained in popularity. Interestingly, Sodium Benzoate is now considered a safe preservative by the FDA. Who knows, they may have had some Blue Label Ketchup on the farm!