In the beginning to middle of the twentieth century, local farmers began to construct tobacco barns, stock barns, and their houses out of timber from the surrounding area. Though at the time they were using the wood for practical use, it now has become an unintentional driving force in a blossoming business in our area. This business is repurposing and refurbishing the wood found in these buildings into various furniture, cabinets, and any other purpose the consumer has in mind.
Over time the wood that these buildings are made of, such as oak or popular, has cured and aged. This has become a desirable element in most modern day house accessories as well as craft items.
Another component that consumers look for in this furniture is dark fired tobacco barn wood. This wood has come from a tobacco barn in which tobacco has been cured through the use of smoking it. This gives the wood a deeply fine finish, as well as a slight aroma of the smoke through which the wood was cured in.
Logan County native Wesley Wright of the Adairville area has taken this art up as a side job profession. He attended a class for woodworking at Western Kentucky University where he picked up several beneficial skills. Through time, as well as trial and error. Wesley has learned the ins and outs of creating masterpieces from this wood. He now constructs pieces to sell or takes orders to build.
This art form is something that has more than just the lure of a beautiful piece of woodworking. The wood that is used has its own history and story. Some of the wood can be up to 100s years old.
To see the furniture Wesley has available for sale, call or text him at 270-847-5382.
Wesley Wright farms with his parents, Dennis and Leann Wright, in South Logan. He has done college work at SKYCTC and WKU. Author John Wright, his brother, is a Joint Admissions student at SKYCTC and WKU, majoring in agriculture.