Locally milled and vacuum kiln dried. Was cut with a straight back edge. Great slab for a mantel project. Cottonwood is not a wood you find slabbed very often due to the difficulty of drying it. In fact it is such a high moisture wood that you can't even burn it with out air drying for years, when they are cut down most Cottonwood is just chipped. Our supplier uses a specially made kiln to get it dry.