Mountain State Log Homes: Nearly 50 Years of Family, Craftsmanship, and Building Dreams
From a family’s roots in West Virginia’s timber industry to more than 1,400 custom log homes across the country, Mountain State Log Homes has built its reputation on quality materials, attention to detail, and a commitment to doing things right.
Some businesses begin with a carefully laid-out plan. Others grow from years of experience, a willingness to try something new, and an opportunity that turns into something much bigger.
For Mountain State Log Homes, it started with a family tradition, a piece of equipment, and one log home.
Today, the family-owned company has produced and delivered materials for more than 1,400 custom log homes, cabins, mountain retreats, and forever homes. Nearly five decades after its founding, Mountain State Log Homes continues to build on the same principles that started it all: quality materials, skilled craftsmanship, and personal service.
And for this West Virginia company, those principles show up in everything from the wood they select to the way they help customers bring their dream homes to life.
From a Family Sawmill to a Log Home Legacy
The story of Mountain State Log Homes began long before the company officially existed.
The Craig family had deep roots in West Virginia’s forestry and wood products industry. By 1975, Ronald Craig was operating a logging and sawmill business in central West Virginia. Over time, the operation expanded into pallet and wooden box production, building on generations of experience with timber, milling, and quality wood products.
A major turning point came when the business added a Pendo machine, giving the operation the ability to manufacture the logs needed to build log homes.
Ronald decided to put that new capability to use by building a log home of his own.
That one home quickly sparked something bigger.
After seeing Ronald’s home, a neighbor asked him to build one for them. Then another neighbor wanted one. Word continued to spread, and what began as one family’s experience in the timber industry naturally grew into a new business.
By 1978, demand had grown enough for Ronald and his son, Stephen Craig, to officially establish Mountain State Log Homes.
Since those early days, the company has grown from building homes locally to serving families across the United States. In 2008, Mountain State Log Homes relocated to its expanded production facility in Jane Lew, West Virginia, just off I-79 in Lewis County.
The property is also home to a beautiful 4,100-square-foot model log home and showroom, where customers can experience the craftsmanship, materials, and possibilities of a Mountain State Log Home firsthand.
Today, the company has expanded beyond custom log homes to offer timber frame pavilions, premium building materials, and professional-grade stains, sealants, and wood care products.
What started with a sawmill, a piece of equipment, and one log home in the 1970s has grown into a family legacy that continues nearly five decades later.
The Difference Is in the Details
Ask Mountain State Log Homes what sets the company apart, and they’ll tell you, “Quality isn’t just about the finished home. It’s about the decisions and details that go into building it.”
For nearly 50 years, the company has focused on using quality materials, proven processes, and solutions that give customers a better home and a better building experience.
It starts with the wood.
While many log home companies commonly use white pine, Mountain State Log Homes primarily uses hemlock, chosen for its durability, weather resistance, insect resistance, and fewer defects. The company strategically sources its timber, even bringing it in from other states when necessary, to find the highest-quality materials available.
That same standard extends to the stains, sealants, roofing, and other products the company recommends and provides.
A Corner System Designed to Make a Difference
Mountain State Log Homes also has its own unique Dovetail Interlocking Corner System, along with a proprietary corner routing process.
The company routes a full inch and a half of the log profile into the matching corner, creating an exceptionally tight interlocking joint and helping eliminate opportunities for gaps at the corners.
It’s a detail that adds strength and performance while giving the home the unmistakable character of a true dovetail log home. And that attention to detail doesn’t stop at the corners.
A Dry-In Package Built Around Real-World Needs
Mountain State Log Homes takes pride in offering one of the most complete Dry-In Packages in the industry. The company has spent decades refining what’s included based on what its customers and contractors actually need.
The package includes internal dimensional lumber, metal roofing, log railings, staircases, interior and exterior stain materials, full log gables, and even trapezoid windows.
The approach to those specialty windows is a good example of how the company thinks through the building process. Rather than ordering trapezoid windows based solely on the plans, Mountain State Log Homes waits until the contractor has completed the necessary portion of the home. Then the openings can be measured to ensure the most accurate fit possible.
These may seem like small details, but they can make a significant difference during construction and throughout the life of the home.
As the company’s sales team puts it, “Wherever there is a problem, we find a solution in our process.”
Over the years, whenever the team has identified a way to improve the building process, prevent a common issue, or provide something customers would otherwise have to source themselves, it has worked to incorporate that solution into what the company offers.
The goal is simple: anticipate needs, solve problems, and help customers have a better experience.
Family-Owned Means Personal Service
Quality materials and construction methods are important, but Mountain State Log Homes believes there’s another essential part of the equation: the relationship with the customer.
Generations of the Craig family have served in leadership, carrying forward the same expectations for quality that the company was founded on in 1978.
The company isn’t focused on selling the most homes. It’s focused on serving each customer the best it can. That means taking the time to work one-on-one with customers, listening to what they want, answering their questions, and helping guide them through what is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It’s an approach that has helped Mountain State Log Homes build a reputation as a trusted name throughout the East Coast.
As Travis Craig explains, the company has experienced the ups and downs of the log home and building industries. Through every change, it has continued to adapt, grow, and stand behind the quality of what it provides.
For Mountain State Log Homes, longevity is something to be proud of. After 48 years, the family is still here, the reputation remains strong, and the business continues to grow without losing the quality, craftsmanship, and personal service that built it in the first place.
A Partnership Built on Quality: Mountain State Log Homes and Sashco
About 10 years ago, Mountain State Log Homes began looking for the highest-quality products it could offer its customers.
The team was constantly being asked which stains, sealants, and maintenance products would perform best and last the longest. They wanted to find a company and product line they could confidently recommend and stand behind.
After receiving samples and learning more about Sashco Log Home products, the fit became clear. Like Mountain State Log Homes, Sashco is family-owned, and the two companies share an emphasis on quality, customer service, and continually improving their products. Mountain State Log Homes also appreciates the wide variety of stain options Sashco offers its customers.
But the relationship has grown beyond simply carrying products.
Travis Craig traveled to Sashco for its Zero Failures training, spending a week learning more about the products, proper application, and the business side of log home finishing.
Seeing firsthand the research, education, and effort that go into producing high-quality products gave Mountain State Log Homes even more confidence in what it was offering its customers.
The partnership has continued to evolve. Through Sashco’s Start Right program, Mountain State Log Homes customers receive additional guidance and follow-up to help them properly care for and maintain their log homes over time.
That continued education and support fits perfectly with Mountain State Log Homes’ own commitment to serving customers well beyond the initial purchase.
For the past decade, the partnership has worked because both companies share a similar goal: provide quality products, educate customers, keep finding better solutions, and help ensure log homes are protected and enjoyed for years to come.
Putting That Trust to the Test: The Mountain State Model Home
When it came time to refinish the exterior of its own model home in Jane Lew, West Virginia, the team at Mountain State Log Homes didn’t have to think twice about which products to use.
In 2026, the company completely refinished the exterior of the home using Sashco products.
And this wasn’t just any project.
The model home is one of the biggest representations of the Mountain State Log Homes brand. Sitting directly along I-79, it serves as the company’s office and the place where customers come to see, touch, and experience a real log home before building their own. It’s a home that represents the company every single day.
The project began with media blasting the logs back to bare wood, completely removing the old finish and giving the home a fresh start. From there, the team applied Sashco Transformation Stain in Gold Tone Light.
The finished result brought out the natural character and beauty of the logs while providing the long-lasting protection the company wanted for the home.
For Mountain State Log Homes, choosing a stain is about much more than adding color. The right stain highlights the natural beauty of the wood, protects the investment, and plays a major role in the overall look and longevity of a log home.
The model home is something the company is incredibly proud of, and choosing Sashco for such a visible and important project speaks to the confidence Mountain State Log Homes has in the products.
When the home representing your own business needs a new finish, the products you choose matter.
The Future of Log Homes: More Than Just a House
Looking ahead, Mountain State Log Homes sees log homes becoming increasingly associated with luxury and lifestyle.
For many customers, building a log home isn’t simply about constructing a house. It’s about creating a second home, a vacation retreat, a retirement home, or something they’ve dreamed about for years.
Being part of bringing that dream to life is one of the things the company enjoys most.
The team is also seeing more people wanting to move away from city life and build in rural areas, where they can enjoy more space, privacy, and a different pace of life.
With more people able to work remotely from almost anywhere in the country, they have greater freedom to choose where and how they want to live. A log home fits naturally into that lifestyle. For Mountain State Log Homes, the opportunity ahead is to continue helping customers make their homes truly their own.
Every customer’s vision is different. The company wants to provide the quality materials, options, knowledge, and support needed to bring those individual visions to life.
Strong partnerships play an important role in making that possible. Working with companies that share its commitment to quality allows Mountain State Log Homes to continue offering better products, more options, and dependable solutions as the industry evolves.
Ultimately, everything comes back to the customer: understanding what they want and helping turn the log home they’ve been dreaming about into a reality.
Advice for Homeowners and Contractors: Take Pride in Doing It Right
After nearly five decades in the industry, Travis Craig’s biggest piece of advice for new log homeowners and contractors is simple: Take pride in doing it right from the beginning.
A log home is a major investment, but for most customers, it means much more than that. It’s their dream home, vacation home, retirement home, or a place they’ve worked toward for years.
Whether you’re the homeowner purchasing the home or the contractor building it, that dream deserves a certain level of care and attention.
For homeowners, the advice is to do your research. Look at the different materials, products, building methods, and companies available to you. Quality matters, and making the right decisions in the beginning can make a tremendous difference in the longevity of your home.
For contractors, remember what you’re building for someone. Pay attention to the little things, use the right products, and be willing to go the extra mile.
At Mountain State Log Homes, that commitment has always meant putting additional attention into areas like corner systems, butt joints, and other critical details to help ensure everything is tight and built correctly.
It’s the same philosophy that has guided the company since its beginning: do the work carefully, solve problems wherever possible, and never lose sight of the people who will live in the homes being built.
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