The old octagonal barn is inhabited by people, not cows

The old octagonal (eight-sided) barn was simply a shipwreck. The haystack floor is rotten and unstable. A barn floor full of old straw and the remains of a cattle feeder. Corruption was everywhere.

Like many empty dairy farms across the country, the structure was considered hopeless and without a future for most, except Kari Stebbins. I saw a decaying barn with a roof, solid walls and framework, two floors filled with people eating, drinking and celebrating as destinations and homes for public events of various kinds.

11 years ago

Stebbins and Owen Brush purchased the 4.5-acre former farm in December 2011.

“We worked from home for a year and a half before we moved,” says Stebbins. do things ”

work, work

While working on the house, the couple began making plans to clean up the farm, including removing the fallen building. It also meant to remove.

Can you believe they knocked down the two silos with the help of a few friends? “I did it with a sledgehammer,” Stebbins replied. “One swing at a time and eventually they fell.”

major repair

Rebuilding the round barn included removing the old concrete floor and remnants of the wooden manger, lifting the entire barn over the repaired masonry walls, tearing out the rotten haystack floor, and reinforcing the roof supports. , which included returning the barn to its foundation. walls, installation of new roofs, etc.

The former double 6 milking parlor and free stall barn behind the parlor have long disappeared, replaced by changing rooms and toilets.

he knows history

Doug Feiner of Spring Green knew the farm’s history. He lived on most of it, and yes, it was a prominent dairy farm for many years.”My grandfather Joe Fainer purchased this farm in his 1933 and his father Felix took over in 1941.” ‘, Fainer begins. “Until 1959 we were milking 30 of his cows with a barn vacuum cleaner and a pole in the middle.”