Sunken Treasure—Gold in the Rivers
January 1, 2000

Gold in the form of rich hues and grain of aged Heart Pine and Heart Cypress has been submerged for hundreds of years in the Suwannee and other Florida Rivers. This year these highly treasured trees will surface, thanks to ecologically aware people like George Goodwin, who petitioned and won the privilege to retrieve them without disturbing the surrounding Eco-systems.

When the trees were initially hewn, it was the oldest and most dense trees that rolled off the logging rafts and slipped into the darkness of the Suwannee. Most of the trees recovered by Goodwin and Company are hundreds and sometimes thousands of years old. The wood colors range from golden honey to a rich burgundy red. The well-defined grains are works of art ranging from select arches to vertical pin stripes to curly or burl grain. The wood is carefully sawn, slowly air-dried, then kiln-dried and meticulously milled to the specifications of the particular project and the customer’s needs. Goodwin follows the 1904 grading rules for Heart Pine and Heart Cypress and sets the standards for antique woods today.

Whether for restoration or for the beauty of the wood being used in modern design, Goodwin’s recovered Heart Pine has starred in PBS’s This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop. It has played a role in HGTV’s Dream Builders and has been a notable in such magazines as Women’s Day, U.S. News and World Report and Fine Homebuilding. Most recently, Goodwin was featured in Southern Living, December, 1999.