The red barn you see at Young’s was built in 1869, as best we can tell (the date is carved onto one of the oak boards in the upper level haymow). For the first 80 years or so, it was unpainted. Around 1950 it was time to paint it for the first time. What color? Red, of course, with white trim. You can see the milk house on the left side of the picture, where the bulk milk tank is located (and is still there today – although updated a bit). On the right side of the photo, you can see the recently added lean-to, built to increase the capacity of the building (room for more cows back in the day).
Later we would add the first Dairy Store on the left (south side) and an animal observation area on the right. Over the years we had baby Jersey calves, turkeys, rabbits and other farm animals in the front pen. The animal area is now located on the other end of the barn (more room and away from the traffic on Route 68).
This barn is built on hard-packed sand footers and stone block. The beams that form the structure of the barn are similar to the structural beams we used to build the Golden Jersey Inn in 1997. We’ve repainted the barn several time since the 1950’s. And every once in a while, we do some work on the foundation to keep it in good shape.
We certainly think this building will still be in use many years into the future.