The original farm tables were born from the very basic need of settlers to have a place to sit and eat. These early farm tables were very basic indeed, cut from plentiful timber stocks, as towns were formed they needed lumber and grain. These were supplied by lumber and grain mills, which were more often than not located on a river which provided the power.
Structural timbers were quickly converted to legs and long slabs became table tops. Tools were very primitive, so the farm table was usually long and narrow and basic. Seating was usually a bench or two which resembled a miniature farm table. The lumber used, was very rarely cured or kiln dried. Air drying had to do. For this reason if you can find an original farm table you will see inevitably it would have cracks and twists formed as the lumber dried, in the home. Quite often the owner would have to cut a small wooden bowtie and cut it into the table across the crack to keep it from lengthening and widening further. Antique farm tables, in good shape, with this type of characteristic fetch huge dollars if one can find them.
The most plentiful lumber back then was usually Eastern White Pine, huge trees with nice clear grain and few defects. Soft and easy to work with it made great structural lumber for farm homes and barns, but it