First barn-raising in county in 50 years taking place near Manchester Saturday
Pamela and Derek Brereton are leading a barn-raising Saturday on their property near Manchester which includes this log cabin.
Lisa Carolin | for AnnArbor.com
The location is on 20 acres of property owned by the Breretons that they call "Soaring Hill." In 2009, they built a small rustic log cabin using dead ash trees that they salvaged from the property. They don't live there, but enjoy visiting the woods, fields and river (Raisin.)
"We wanted a small barn to store our canoes and the equipment that accumulates such as a mower and tools," said Pamela Brereton.
The Breretons expect about 20 people at the barn-raising July 21, some of whom have building skills, and a few with specific timber framing skills.
"This area is rich with beautiful old timber frame barns from the late 1800s to mid-1900s, but they are disappearing fast," said Pamela Brereton. "We want to build something that has the aesthetic appeal of the old barns, and we feel strongly that the old skills like timber framing are worth preserving."
The Breretons plan to include two old rituals at the barn raising: They will place a 2012 coin under the first post erected, and they will cut a small evergreen from their property and tie it to the peak of the barn roof at the end of the day.
The last barn-raising to occur in Washtenaw County took place 50 years ago west of Manchester on the west side of Lamb Road, north of Austin Road . The Breretons say that one of the main reasons that it's been so long is that people don't build timber frame barns anymore, and that pole barns and basic frame construction barns are simpler to build and don't require a gathering of people.
Comments
Carole
Sun, Jul 22, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.
Best wishes and enjoy.
cbultman
Sun, Jul 22, 2012 : 12:46 p.m.
Ms. Carolin I am a member of the MBPN and I received a couple of emails announcing this event. Now I did not save them but I just checked the event as it is advertised on the MBPN's website and facebook; nowhere does it say that this is the first raising in the county in 50 years. I am not sure where this comes from but in light of Mr. Berg's comment I would like to ask that aa.com investigate the validity of his remarks and then publish a correction (if necessary) to this story and headline. Local news sources are important documents to those of us who work with old buildings and are interested in their history. It is very important then to make sure that dates and references are accurate; to set the record straight for current and future readers. Clearly both you and Mr. Berg cannot be correct. And because a a very quick search produced an article by Janet Miller for the Ann Arbor Business Review in April of 2008 that completely supports Mr. Berg I am thinking that you might be the one who has erred. Mr. Berg, thank you for pointing this out. Regards, C Bultman
jcj
Sat, Jul 21, 2012 : 8:47 p.m.
I guess the barn the was relocated to Rodgers Corner Produce on Dexter Chelsea.I think that was done by the Amish in the 70's or 80's.
Ray Berg
Sat, Jul 21, 2012 : 5:39 p.m.
Actually, a classic 30' by 54' timber-frame barn built to authentic 19th century German proportions and appearance was raised in 2005, two miles east of Manchester. It was noted at that time as the first local barn-raising since the Manchester Buss barn in 1949. The barn-raising included the placement of a silver dollar and the evergreen ceremony at the top of the frame. The barn has hosted several Manchester Area Historical Society picnics and other events. The barn was raised by eight men led by Manchester's Jeff Proctor, aided by a crane.