Spring House
A survey was performed around the Shawnee Springs area to determine the best location. The site selected was about two thousand feet on the hill to the northwest of the springs. The views from this vantage point overlooked the springs, the magnificent cypress trees near the springs, and the hill on the other side of the spring branch valley. This was also one of the most heavily wooded parts of the farm. In addition to the natural beauty, there was absolutely no noise…..just peace and quite. Since the reconstructed barn would be located near the springs, what better name to give the recycled barn than the Springhouse.
With this concept in mind, Ralph called his Restoration Team together once again. The first order of business was to fully document the existing timber structure, piece by piece. An identification tagging and orientation system was developed, and detailed drawings of the structure were prepared. The design process for the Springhouse was started following documentation of the existing structure.

One of the most fundamental design requirements for the Springhouse was to leave the timber structure exposed with little or no modifications. Based on this requirement, the floor plan for the Springhouse was left totally open except for the enclosure of the bathroom and mechanical closet located on the first floor. The original barn had a second story loft on either side of the central passage, so it was decided that one side of the loft would be reconstructed to serve as a bedroom sleeping loft. Access to the sleeping loft would be provided with a period style cast iron spiral staircase. This would require much less floor space than a conventional stair would require.
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