Our cypress log home kits are finely crafted from "Deep Swamp Red Cypress" harvested primarily from the Piedmont and Coastal regions of South Carolina. These very same timberlands provided cypress that was used in centuries past to build old historic homes located in Charleston and the "Low Country" of the Carolinas. Their longevity in such a hot and humid region is a true testament to the enduring beauty and durability of Cypress "The Wood Eternal". North American Cypress (Taxodium distichum), grows in wet, swampy areas along the Eastern Coast from Delaware to Florida and west along the Gulf to the Mexican border in Texas and north up the Mississippi River Valley. This water-loving tree grows best in the swampy areas of Florida and the lower Mississippi river and can reach heights of up to 145 feet. Common names for cypress include: Baldcypress, bald cypress, cypress, swamp cypress, southern cypress, red cypress, yellow cypress, white cypress, tidewater cypress, gulf cypress, black cypress, cow cypress. Cypress trees are one of two American conifers (softwoods) that shed foliage in the fall like hardwoods. Although a softwood, it has traditionally been grouped and manufactured with hardwoods because it grows alongside hardwoods and is even graded by the rules of the National Hardwood Lumber Association. Cypress has many exterior and interior uses. Cypress heartwood is extremely decay and insect resistant due to the naturally occurring preservative known as cypressine. It is an ideal choice for house construction, docks, beams, decks, flooring, paneling and siding. Cypress can also be milled to make doors, windows, rails, and even caskets. The ancient Egyptians used cypress to produce the pharaoh’s caskets, and in the Middle Ages, craftsmen used it to carve enormous cathedral doors.