It’s not uncommon to see century-old barns in near ruin.
One Ossian family was able to get its barn a full makeover thanks to The Saunders Foundation. Ossian Historical Society hopes to see more barn projects like this happen in coming years.
The Walker barn at 4774 Ossian Hill Rd. was chosen for restoration through the historical society’s Barn Restoration Project, an initiative of the historical society.
On Sept. 29, Bret and Robin Walker, owners of the barn, conducted a second annual open house to let the community get an upclose view of their restored barn.
The home and barn belonged to Bret’s grandmother.
“Bret wanted the house,” Robin said. “I mostly wanted it for the barn. I love the barn.”
The first thing the Walkers did when they acquired the property was restore a corner on the west side of the barn, which was ready to go, Robin said.
With the exception of the west-side corner, the barn was restored by an Amish carpenter, Ira Miller from Prattsburg, and a friend of his. They worked from June to September 2011.
“When he first came up and walked through it he was just in awe,” Robin said. “He was absolutely honored to work on it.”
The barn had to be restored with as much original-style material as possible, which eliminated vinyl and other types of building products.
The barn still has its original slate roof, which ornately adorns its four dormers, just as it had 100 years ago.
The exterior is sided with three-inch tongue and groove wood.
The interior walls and some flooring are also tongue and groove.
“You don’t find that in a lot of barns,” Robin said.
Also inside, the barn hasn’t changed much from when it housed horses, cows, sheep and a pig or two.
The second floor stored hay, and had a granary.
Today, the barn is used for storage and for an office and workshop for Bret. He and Robin are the fourth owners of the barn, which dates back about 100 years ago.
“This was Phil’s [Saunders] first choice,” town historian Rhea Walker said of the barn receiving the grant.
The historical society gathered information provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, the National Park Service and other established preservation programs to apply for the grant.
Factors in having the barn chosen for the first restoration project included the barn having been in a farm setting so it can be seen in relation to surrounding fields and other farm structures; the shape and form of the barn which conveys its character to important events or persons that shaped it; and it has to be of unique design, construction or form.
It’s not uncommon to see century-old barns in near ruin.
One Ossian family was able to get its barn a full makeover thanks to The Saunders Foundation. Ossian Historical Society hopes to see more barn projects like this happen in coming years.
The Walker barn at 4774 Ossian Hill Rd. was chosen for restoration through the historical society’s Barn Restoration Project, an initiative of the historical society.
On Sept. 29, Bret and Robin Walker, owners of the barn, conducted a second annual open house to let the community get an upclose view of their restored barn.
The home and barn belonged to Bret’s grandmother.
“Bret wanted the house,” Robin said. “I mostly wanted it for the barn. I love the barn.”
The first thing the Walkers did when they acquired the property was restore a corner on the west side of the barn, which was ready to go, Robin said.
With the exception of the west-side corner, the barn was restored by an Amish carpenter, Ira Miller from Prattsburg, and a friend of his. They worked from June to September 2011.
“When he first came up and walked through it he was just in awe,” Robin said. “He was absolutely honored to work on it.”
The barn had to be restored with as much original-style material as possible, which eliminated vinyl and other types of building products.
The barn still has its original slate roof, which ornately adorns its four dormers, just as it had 100 years ago.
The exterior is sided with three-inch tongue and groove wood.
The interior walls and some flooring are also tongue and groove.
“You don’t find that in a lot of barns,” Robin said.
Also inside, the barn hasn’t changed much from when it housed horses, cows, sheep and a pig or two.
The second floor stored hay, and had a granary.
Today, the barn is used for storage and for an office and workshop for Bret. He and Robin are the fourth owners of the barn, which dates back about 100 years ago.
“This was Phil’s [Saunders] first choice,” town historian Rhea Walker said of the barn receiving the grant.
The historical society gathered information provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, the National Park Service and other established preservation programs to apply for the grant.
Factors in having the barn chosen for the first restoration project included the barn having been in a farm setting so it can be seen in relation to surrounding fields and other farm structures; the shape and form of the barn which conveys its character to important events or persons that shaped it; and it has to be of unique design, construction or form.
