The barn in which we keep the cows was constructed in 1979. Here’s a couple shots of the barn while it was being built:

Now, here is how it looks present-day. It is a tie stall barn that holds approximately 100 cows at capacity.

A lot of basketball was played on this hoop over the years. Better to shut the door when playing, however.

This section of the barn is the milkroom and office. The milk is kept in large stainless steel, chilled bulk tanks while waiting for the truck to come pick it up. The small steel openings on either side of the doors are where the milk truck runs a hose through and connects it to the bulk tank to pump the milk out into the truck.

Built - 1841

This is the rear of the old barn. This post and beam structure has the date 1841 written on it on several places inside. Originally it was three stories high. Now it is used to house hay, though we’ve been working with conservation/preservation societies in hopes that it can be restored.

Here is the barn from the front:

A neat look inside at the post-and-beam construction. This was all put together using wooden pegs.

Here’s an 1841 for you;

Now, here are so not-so-pretty sides of the Barn. We’re putting these up here to show the extent of the work that is needed to preserve this scructure:

You can see the efforts that have been made to try and stabilize the side just a little bit, but clearly much more is needed. Here’s a look at the other side:

Once again, you see critical beams that are sagging and in need of support. We’re quite nervous about the “patches” applied here and need to do something more significant.