When colonists arrived in the New World, they found vast stands of mature Southern Yellow Pines ranging from 150 to 450 years old. Some of them where up to five feet in diameter and 180 feet tall. The pines were magnificent and their supply appeared to be endless. Many were fully mature and consisted predominantly of dense grained heartwood. It was because of this unique heartwood that the trees came to be known as “Heart Pine”. As the colonists took control of the land, Heart Pine quickly established itself as their “wood of choice” and was used to build virtually everything from fence posts to furniture. In some cases, entire houses would be built from the heartwood of a single tree.