About

It’s hard to build a great log home without the best logs and people that know how to turn logs into a home. Hiawatha Log Homes come from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where the trees are straight, craftsmanship legendary and winters a bit more than hardy. The majority of our logs come from the Hiawatha National Forest where there’s been ongoing and very successful forest management and replanting since the 1940’s. The soil conditions make for very straight and uniform logs, with disease resistant qualities.

Hiawatha Log Home’s logs are harvested in the winter, when the tree is dormant making for a less stressed drying environment, less checking and twisting resulting in increased integrity of the home.

Just like a good pair of jeans or nice work boots, a great Log Home is all about fit. All of our logs are factory cut and because of our state-of the art drying system, fit together like a glove once on site.

When we mill our logs we do it with the best Bezner German made precision mills available. Our Archi-CAD design computer precisely plans cuts that other CAD programs may miss. Our staircases are given a furniture grade notch, which results in little to no splintering.

Let’s face it; all of the best systems and equipment won’t help if the people running them don’t understand log homes. Our craftsmen, many who grew up in the woods, take great care and are given the latitude to do what it takes to make your home perfect, even at the cost of our profitability.

It’s the best logs, precision-tuned machinery, operators that know how to use it, a staff that’s been designing dreams for many years, it’s all of that and more that make the Hiawatha Difference.

Come see what a difference we can make in turning your dream into a reality.

Chief Executive Officer

Joe Esbrook

Our Forests - Our Future

They provide countless benefits for our lives – from clean water and air, to medicines and paper products, fantastic recreational opportunities, and yes, materials with which we can create homes for our families, now and in the future.

Realizing all the benefits of our forests requires management, based upon the principle of stewardship. This stewardship—the wise use of a resource with proper regard for the rights of others—is the best ways to preserve our forests for all people, through time. This practice guides Hiawatha Log Homes. Because we want to make sure that our raw material will always be available, all of the timber we purchase is harvested under the guidelines of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. Hiawatha’s future is dependent upon our forests, and we plan to be creating traditions for many years to come.

Most of our Northern Red Pine logs are harvested from Upper Michigan U.S. Forest Service plots, which have been managed in the U.P. for nearly 75 years.  It’s one of the few pine species that’s being actively reforested in the industry.  Any waste in the milling process is used to heat the kiln during the drying process, which is a small part of our ongoing commitment to energy conservation and environmental sustainability.

northern-red-pine-forest

Our Logs

They provide countless benefits for our lives – from clean water and air, to medicines and paper products, fantastic recreational opportunities, and yes, materials with which we can create homes for our families, now and in the future.

Winter harvesting means less stress during the kiln-drying process, which means less checking and twisting.  Each log is kiln-dried for unsurpassed dimensional stability. Our wood can be milled for a smooth, uniform look, or hand-hewn for a traditional rustic texture.

You can place your confidence in our materials!

  • All of our logs meet quality grading standards
  • Our wood species are compatible for locations across the country
  • Hiawatha products meet or exceed national building codes
  • Non-corrosive fasteners and borate treated wool rope engineered for log joint movement provide long-term stability
  • All our logs are inspected and approved by TPI (Timber Products Inspection)

"We're always receiving compliments on how fun & inviting our suites and cabins are, and how the logs accent the variety of decors found throughout the resort. Thanks, Hiawatha, for helping our dreams become reality."

- D’Amour’s Cedar Lodge -