Salvaging centuries old logs from Maine's lake bottoms

Why cut down trees when you can hoist them up from the bottom of the lake? Check out the DeadHead Lumber Company and its unique (and greener) method of lumbering.

Tue, Aug 24 2010 at 6:55 AM EST

Todd Morrissette of DeadHead Lumber Company hoists an old log off the bottom of a Maine lake.

Photo: Whit Richardson/Mainebiz

After 10 years of working in the wood-importing business in Portland, Maine, Todd Morrissette wanted to do something different with his life, something a little on the greener side of the spectrum. He thought about getting into solar power and then into buying old barns and reclaiming the wood, but eventually he settled on something not a lot of other people are doing; Todd Morrissette goes diving for old logs.

Well, he doesn't actually go diving — Morrissette has a custom-built boat that he uses to find and then pick up old logs off the bottom of some of Maine's rivers and lakes. His company, the DeadHead Lumber Company, specializes in finding hardwood logs that have been sitting under water for hundreds of years, some of which started sprouting before Columbus sailed for the New World.

Back in Maine's early booming lumbering days, hardwood logs had to be floated to the saw mill in large rafts made of more buoyant soft woods. Sometimes those rafts didn't quite hold together for the entire trip to the mill and many logs were lost in the bottom of lakes and rivers.

The cold depths inhibit decay, so if you can find, pull up, and cut into one of these long lost logs, you'll find beautiful wood perfectly suited for milling into floors and interior finish work.

And the best part is, it's super eco-friendly — these logs were cut by our great-great (great?) grandfathers hundreds of years ago, so the damage to the old growth forest tracts has already been done.

One of my friends, Whit Richardson, wrote a great feature on Todd and his company for Mainebiz last year; click over and give it a read to find out more about Morrissette and his unique style of lumbering.

Visit the DeadHead Lumber Company.

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