Barn of the Year Winners Announced at ANR Week
3/21/08
Contact: Laura Probyn
517-432-1555, ext. 171
or
Jan Corey Arnett
269-832-4893
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Five barns received 2008 Barn of the Year awards from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN) at the organization’s 13th annual conference, held recently as part of Agriculture and Natural Resources Week at Michigan State University.
Honored this year were barns in Harrison, Mason, Middleville, Northville and Owosso. In addition, a special award was presented to recognize the volunteers who are working to save a historic barn in Oakland County’s Highland Township. The winners were selected from among more than 30 nominations from across the state.
The Harrison barn received one of two Family/Private Adaptive Use awards. It belongs to Lewis and Carroll J. Hole and is located at 4052 Old State Road. This 56- by 28-foot barn is 60 feet tall and was built in 1911.
When the Hole family purchased the farm in 1963, the shake-shingled dairy barn had rotted flooring (the result of water damage from a hole in the roof), and it was leaning to the point of being on the verge of collapse. Careful cabling, straightening and concrete reinforcing and replacing the roof and flooring have given this barn new life as a storage and work facility.
The Commercial Use Award was presented to Charles and Shirley Herrick for their barn, located at 4666 Bunker Road in Mason. The gambrel-roofed, 30- by 49-foot pegged barn was built by the Mattison family and dates back to 1890. It was used until 1980 for cattle and hay.
The Herricks bought about 20 acres and the farm buildings in 1989. After being used by a series of renters, the barn needed substantial work. One corner had completely lost its support, joists were rotting, and part of a wall had collapsed. Restoration began in 1990 and continued in phases through 2006. Today the barn is the setting for “Art in the Barn,” an art show that draws large numbers of exhibitors and visitors each year.
John and Judy Seeber own the winner of the Family/Private Continued Agricultural Use Award. Their barn, located at 2200 Woodschool Road in Middleville, was built in the late 1800s. It remains in agricultural use and bears the name, “Algonquin Farm” on the roof, the name of the registered Holstein operation once housed there.
The barn features a hand-hewn, 60-foot beam that is the same dimensions on both ends. It also contains an 80-foot hay track, which once moved hay into the mow for storage.
The Non-Profit Use Award went to Thayer’s Corner Park Barn, located at 8250 Napier Road, in Northville. This 32- by 44-foot timber-framed, gable-roofed bank barn features a rare swing beam truss. The mortise and tenon structure is hand-hewn and estimated to have been built in the mid-1800s by a couple who immigrated from Lichtenstein.
Once used as a horse racing stable, the barn’s first home was near historic Northville Downs. When developers acquired the property and a subdivision was built, a local effort was launched to find a new use for the building. It was moved 5 miles to Thayer’s Corner Park. Business and individual donations, reuse of materials and volunteer help contributed to saving the barn, which will be used for events, classes and private gatherings.
A barn owned by John Matousek won the second Family/Private Adaptive Use Award. Located at 3827 N. Delaney Road in Owosso, this barn was built in the late 1800s. The barn was used for dairy cattle for about 40 years, and some of the original wooden stanchions and feeding mangers are still intact.
The barn’s transformation was begun so that it could host a family wedding. A stairway to the loft was added along with safety railing and a beverage bar where the cooling area for milk once stood. The barn is now the focal point for gatherings of friends and family.
A special recognition for heroic effort and collaboration was presented to a group of volunteers who are working to preserve the Edsel Ford Barn at Haven Hill in Highland Township. One of the largest barns in the state when it was built in the 1920s, the 62- by 224-foot building was originally intended to house sheep but was used as a horse stable.
Following Ford’s death, the property passed to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and was used as offices, a warming place for skiers and a sign shop. Unused since the 1980s, it fell into disrepair. Early last year, a group calling itself the Friends of Highland Recreation Area began work to make repairs, conduct fund-raising efforts and establish a nonprofit organization to preserve the barn.
The Barn of the Year awards program began 12 years ago, soon after the MBPN was founded, as a way to draw attention to preservation efforts. As rural Michigan has changed and the uses for barns have expanded beyond traditional farm structures, the recognition program has grown. The 2008 awards mark the first time awards were presented in four categories. Each barn owner received a plaque bearing an image of his/her barn at an awards luncheon during the two-day conference.
The MBPN promotes appreciation, preservation and rehabilitation of Michigan barns, farmsteads and rural communities. The 2008 annual conference included an all-day March 7 barn tour to barns, farm homes and a restored mill, and an evening auction. March 8 featured workshops, awards presentations, a raffle and an exhibit room.
For more information about the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, visit www.mibarn.net.
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