Hertzler Barn Project
George Rogers Clark Historic Park, Springfield, Ohio
July 7-21, 2007


Reports from the field by Joel McCarty

Links

Hertzler Barn Project

Day 1 Report

Day 2 Report

Day 3 Report

Day 4 Report

Day 5 Report

Day 6 Report

Day 7 Report

Day 8 Report

Day 9 Report

Day 10 Report

Day 11 Report

Day 12 Report

Day 13 Report

Day 14 Report

Day 15 Report

Local News Coverage

Day 16 Report

Day 17 Report

Day 18 Report

Day 19 Report

Final Report

Final Frame

Barn Photos

May 2008 Barn Photos

Local News Coverage: Raising Day

Day 1 Report

The crew all arrived safely the night before to find a field full of old timber and trailers and trucks. Sleeping bags are required to deal with the unseasonably mild weather.

We received a hearty and hospitable welcome from the Park operations staff, generated some conviviality of our own, and began to prep for the three weeks to come. We do not expect any participants until Saturday, so we have a little time to get clear on our plan of work.

Up early today, but not early enough to catch Dane arriving from home. We discovered that the new timber shipment had arrived from TDTW in the night. The trucker was in the company of his four-year-old son, and they both seemed to be having a great time. We had the timbers unloaded and they were on their way by coffee time, without a hitch.

All day we moved timber around. Tom and Vincent worked to salvage the first level summers, or carrying timbers (60' feet of hickory each!).

Kevin, Brian and Dane puzzled over the foundation dimensions, with an assist from TFG member Don Seela and park personnel. While we have found the stone work to be out of square a bit too much to deal with without modification, we have a plan.


Photos by J. McCarty
Roll over any small photo for a larger view

Captions:

  1. Dawn Patrol. Sun up on Day one reveals a trailer load of new timber from Trillium Dell in Illinois. We had to go a long way to find white oak in the quality and sizes we need for this project.
  2. Sunrise over camp. There are six of us on site at the moment, camping around the perimeter of this very large parade ground. The worksite consists of two of these large tents, plenty of power and water. It is an excellent beginning.
  3. Getting organized with our Leadership Team (from left to right): Tom Cundiff, Brian Beals, Vince Leyendecker (PM), Kevin Brennan, Dane Gustafson, Joel McCarty. The Park is doing a great job of feeding and caffeinating us in the Meeting House right on site.
  4. Setting out; These hewn Hickory summers are 60 feet long, and are in remarkably good condition. Thanks especially to the dismantle crew from Christian and Son, for handling them so respectfully.
  5. Pit Bull: Half the crew busily snapping lines to sort out plinth landings for basement posts. This foundation survives from the original barn, and has been beautifully repaired, realigned and r-pointed by the excellent Park mason, all with historic lime mortars. The new barn will feature a forebay heading out towards the dooryard at the top left of this picture.