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Spring House
With the purchase of the Wilkinson Farm in 1988, Anderson Circle Farm acquired several barns as a part of the purchase. As a part of all new acquisitions, inspections were performed to determine the condition of the facilities and make repairs as required. During these inspections, we were confronted with a genuine surprise while inspecting one of the barns near Route 127. From the exterior, the barn appeared to be a typical Kentucky transverse tobacco barn with a central passage and five bents in length. However, this proved to be all that was typical about this Kentucky tobacco barn.
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This was a rare find from a construction standpoint. We discovered that the yellow popular timber structure had been constructed with mortise and tenon joints held together with tapered wood pegs. The framing members had been sawn as opposed to hand hewn. Based on the vast forest of the region, a large number of saw mills once existed in the area. Thus, it was no surprise to discover sawn members. However, nails had been available in this region since the early 1800’s and had been the predominate choice for frame construction connections.
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Based on old farm records, it was determined that the barn was approximately 100 years old. Upon close inspection of our newly found gem, we discovered that the framing timbers were in remarkably good condition except for one corner sill section and one corner post. Ralph immediately recognized that this barn was too valuable to use as just another tobacco barn. It should be restored and preserved. However, it would be 1990 before plans for restoration would be finalized.
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