The Raising of the Herrick Barn on YouTube

By Ed Nizalowski, Historian —

Having an authentic barn at the Farmstead was one of the most difficult and expensive projects taken on by the Historical Society. A barn from the period of the early 1800’s was a type known as an English threshing barn. English denotes the type of frame, and the primary purpose was the storage and processing of grain.

A suitable structure was located and donated by Ed Bruce from Candor, N.Y. It was disassembled in 1996 by Randy Nash of the New York State Barn Company with the help of a number of volunteers.

Dick Warner, of Willseyville, N.Y., was contracted to repair the frame. A Woodwright Guild was formed that did a significant amount of work in this regard.

There were a number of volunteers also involved in the construction of a laid up stone foundation. The Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation largely funded both the disassembly and reconstruction.

Since the Farmstead is a living history site, it was decided to have a traditional barn raising on the weekend of June 12-13, 1999. Robert Kuzia videotaped the weekend and a number of VHS copies were sold to people in different places around the USA, along with a few that went overseas. To date, it is the most complete video documentation of a traditional barn raising that has yet been done.

This production is now on YouTube and is available to the public free of charge. Just go to YouTube and type in the phrase “Herrick Barn”.

If any group wishes to show the program for the public, the Society would like a $50 donation (NV Historical Society, P.O. Box 222, Newark Valley, N.Y. 13811).

For further information, contact Ed Nizalowski, Farmstead director, by calling (607) 642-8075 or by email to ed.nizalowski@gmail.com.