Locally milled and vacuum kiln dried. 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 cut down most Cottonwood is just chipped. Our supplier uses a specially made vacuum kiln to get it dry. Nonetheless, this slab has cupped a bit (1/4" dip). Face width, the side you see in the photos, varies between about 19" and 21", bark not included.