The foundation of the original Hertzler barn, which already has a new appearance with the addition of some old and new floor joists, will soon hold the repaired and restored Chamberlin barn from Miamisburg. Amanda Crowe/Messenger photos
Tim DeVore, of Enon, moves large bundles of lumber with ease.
Historic restoration BETHEL TOWNSHIP - Though most Clark County residents never knew what once stood on the remaining stone foundation at George Rogers Clark Historic Park, they will soon see history restored.
The Timber Framers Guild, based out of New Hampshire, and volunteers have been working with the Clark County Park District since July 7 to restore and reassemble a historic barn at the site of the original Hertzler timber frame barn. Their workshop will be capped off with an old-fashioned barn raising from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 21.
Background
The original 40 x 60-ft. barn was built in 1854, about the same time as the Daniel Hertzler House, a Pennsylvania Style Bank house built for a wealthy Mennonite farmer. The house still stands and is open for tours, but the barn was dismantled in 1951, leaving just a foundation and roof.
In 2000, when the National Trails Parks and Recreation District was established, $200,000 was earmarked for projects at George Rogers
Clark Park, according to Tim DeVore of the Board of Park Commissioners of the Clark County Park District.
"At that point we had the money and we had the vision, so we moved forward with many road blocks," said DeVore. "We had an architect come in to give us an estimate on how much it would cost to rebuild the barn, and he quoted us a ball park figure of $450,000, which was way over budget."
The Clark County Park District with the help of Friends of Ohio Barns, a nonprofit organization formed to promote awareness of the significance of Ohio's historic barns, began searching for an alternative solution.
"The goal was to find a barn in Clark County with similar wood products built around the same time frame as the Hertlzer barn," said Jim Campbell of the National Trail Parks & Recreation District.
In 2005, they found a timber frame barn of similar size and scale to the old Hertzler Barn in Montgomery County.
This Chamberlin barn was scheduled for demolition, but the District rescued it in 2006 with the help of Lynn Miller, whose family donated the barn.
TF Guild Board member Rudy Christian and his company, Christian & Son, were instrumental in the detailed documentation of the barn. It is this Chamberlin barn that is being repaired and resized in the workshop to rest upon the upgraded Hertzler Barn foundation.
The transfer of ownership was complete in Sept. 2006, and a total of 25 volunteers, including park staff and the three park commissioners, ages 12-80, spent 330 hours dismantling the barn during the last two weekends in Oct. The roof and siding were discarded, but the crew cataloged and stored nearly 95 percent of the timbers from the barn to be used in the reassembly in the spring.
"These volunteers saved about $10,000 worth of labor," said DeVore. "And we're very grateful for that."
Project
Volunteers of the Barn Repair and Reassembly Workshop have worked on the repair and reassembly project from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week since the workshop began. They have participated in training on stabilization, jacking, replacement of sills, repair and/or replacement of joints, flooring, girders, queen posts, braces, purlins and other barn frame components; laying a new floor at the sill level, modification of the barn frame to fit the existing foundation; and cutting and installing common rafters.
"We are working diligently to stay within budget on this project," said Devore. "The Timber Framers Guild team and local volunteers are saving us about 50 percent."
The group expects to have the frame ready for the raising on Saturday The original plan was to use a crane to raise the three 60-foot sections, but with the number of volunteers participating, they will now use a pulley system to raise them the "old-fashioned" way, said Campbell.
"This type of barn no longer has an effective use in modern farming with the size of equipment and the use of rolled hay bales instead of square," said Campbell. "But at a park dedicated to history, we can study and learn from this historical barn."
The rest of the barn is scheduled for completion by Thanksgiving.
"This will probably be the last timber frame barn raised in Clark County," said DeVore. "Usually you see them lost or dismantled, not raised. But is a historical park, and this barn is part of history. We will use it as a tool to help teach more history lessons to the next generation."
The public is welcome to attend the barn raising. There is no charge. Bring a lawn chair. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase.
For more information on this project and to view the daily project log visit the Timber Framers Guild website at www.tfguild.org.
Reader Comments Posted: Sunday, April 12, 2009
Comments
Bryan Moffet
I have a bank barn in northern Clark Co. built in 1875 and I can't even find someone to put a new roof on it and I would be paying money to do it, can you help me find someone? Thank You Bryan Moffet
Posted: Friday, July 20, 2007
Comments
Janice Wormington
To Amanda Crowe:
Thanks for the local news article about the Hertzler Barn project.
FYI, the Timber Framers Guild is based in Massachusetts, not New Hampshire, as your article of July 19 states. Joel McCarty, who heads up the project for the Guild, lives in New Hampshire but the actual organization is based in MA.
