|Don Perkins|
Don Perkins wrote a series of articles about local barns for the GNG Independent from 2007-08, which grew into a book about barns throughout the state, The Barns of Maine. Don recently did a presentation about his book at the NG Public Library. You can order Don’s book, Barns of Maine on Amazon or at local bookstores. He also offers custom report services for barn owners. Contact him at mainebarns@gmail.com. NGXchange is pleased to re-run Don’s articles about New Gloucester barns over the next few months.
This second article article is about the barn at Intervale Farm on Intervale Road. It is now owned by John and Kate Moran.
This barn is pushing 200 years and should see many more
Carl and Jan Wilcox grow pumpkins and gourds on 118 acres called Intervale Farm along Rt. 231 in New Gloucester. The hallmark of this farm is a grand barn that dates back to 1811. It’s a massive structure measuring 44 by 84 feet.
“They had a mixture of everything here,” says Carl Wilcox, 45. He grew up here, moved away and then bought the property from his father in 1991. Originally, the land was a horse farm of over 200 acres and included property across the street. Since then there have been dairy cows, hogs and goats here.
Wilcox and his wife Jan, along with their two children, have lived here for the past 16 years. In 2003, Jan led a successful effort to list the farm on the National Register of Historic Places; it received the status on January 15, 2004. This allowed the couple to pursue grants to keep up the property and its beautiful barn.
The barn is a classic — red with white trim and has great proportions. It’s also in fine condition given its nearly 200 years. Carl’s father raised hogs here from the late 1950s through the mid-70s and added the red aluminum siding. A metal roof was installed in 2006. “If your roof leaks, it only takes a few years before things are ruined,” said Wilcox, who makes his living as an engineer.
This is a hand-hewn post and beam structure that Wilcox believes is made of chestnut, a species now lost, but once in abundance centuries ago in the eastern woodlands. It’s a 7-bay, 8-bent barn, meaning eight equally spaced posts are connected to adjoining cross beams that make up the 84-foot length.
The barn is slightly raised. Granite piers hold up the center girders of the floor frame: huge beams measuring some 10 inches square. Closely spaced logs with just a single flat hewn edge are over these and help support the floor planks that once held heavy dairy cattle and horses.
The barn has a simple gable roof and entry doors are located on each of these ends. A pair of large sliding doors totaling 13 feet wide allowed a horse and wagon to enter and unload hay. “If you look up you can see a track system,” said Wilcox pointing towards the roof ridge and the pulley, rope and hayfork that sill hangs here today. “They would have brought in the horses and wagon,” he said, adding that a team of horses is hard to turn or backup in a barn. Thus the center aisle, with doors and ramps at each end, allowed the wagon to exit once its load was hoisted to the loft. “Another horse and a pulley would then pull the hay up,” said Wilcox.
Other details include horizontal wood sheathing over the post and beam frame. This is somewhat unique as early barns often display vertical boarding. But the horizontal boards are due to the fact this barn incorporates vertical studs between each bent. As such, it’s a hybrid of post and beam and stick framing.
200 years imparts character to buildings like these. A 13-foot wide granite stoop in front of the main doors, and a smaller one at a side door, were once rough from being crudely split with a hammer and wedges. After thousands of footsteps they’re now smooth as a baby’s bottom.
Thanks to the original quality of the materials and some superb construction, and the tutelage of Carl and Jan Wilcox, the red barn at Intervale Farm should be standing for many years to come.
