Hey Propig.  Good Luck with the Woodworking it can lots of fun.  We cut just about anything native to West Virginia except pine.  Not sure why we steer clear of it except there isn't much nice pine left around here anymore.  All of our stuff is very green, some of it you could allmost squeeze the sap out of still.  Next week will be Poplar a very soft wood that has a true green tint and if the was near the right minerals sometime has purple streaks, allthough I believe it fades when they dry the lumber at the dry-kiln.  Red-Oak and cherry would be the prettiest woods I know for wood working for dark woods and Pine is the best for light woods and the easiest to work with because it is a very soft wood.  The rarest naitive American wood You can try to find is Wormy Chestnut.  A darker wood with worm holes riddled through the entire log.  Not sure but the worms are most likely why it's an extince species of wood.  American Chesnut tree's are all dead in this area.  Only Chinese Chesnut have grown around here for 40 to 50 years I'm told.  Hope that helps and good luck with the woodworking.  BTW my job still sucks.