MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Workers repairing damage to the U.S. Capitol during January’s riot are using priceless wood that spent decades sitting in a Madison laboratory.
The Wisconsin State Journal reported Saturday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Products Laboratory has been storing nearly 80 mahogany boards it acquired during World War I for research on aircraft propeller material. Research suggests it was harvested in the early 20th century in the Philippines, South America, or Africa.
Officials with the Architect of the Capitol, the agency that maintains the building, plan to use the wood to repair doors and millwork damaged during the Jan. 6 riot.
The agency says the type of mahogany stored at the lab is no longer available anywhere in the world at any price. The lab shipped the wood to Washington D.C. by truck in February.
