Excellence Award Spotlight: Cropsey Farm Barn
The restoration of the Cropsey Farm Barn in Rockland County is one of this year’s Excellence in Historic Preservation Award winners. This post is part of an in depth series exploring all of the 2020 Award winners.
A photo of the barn and bunkhouse after their restoration. Credit: Dan Murdoch
Barns are a threatened building type across New York State. With small-scale and family farms being threatened by industrial farming and suburban sprawl, New York’s deeply rooted agricultural heritage is being lost every day. The League has focused on barns in our programming and advocacy for many years, including providing a loan to protect a historic cider mill, advocating for the preservation of Wells Barns through a Seven to Save listing, and funding surveys of agricultural buildings in preparation for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The successful restoration of the Cropsey Farm Barn in New City provides proof that these historic structures can be saved and continue to serve agricultural purposes in the 21st century.
In 2006, Rockland County partnered with the Town of Clarkstown to take ownership of the Cropsey property, with the county owning 61% and the Town owning 31%. Their goal was to preserve the property as open space and once again use it for agricultural purposes. Along with the local Community Supported Agriculture association, they set out to save the 223-year-old Dutch barn, despite challenges that may have otherwise led to demolition. The challenges they faced were extensive, as the project team explained in their nomination:
The heavy timber frame needed substantial repair and restoration. Vertical differential settlement, 16 and 20 inches at the east and south gable ends respectively, caused considerable structural stress; cracks were visible across heavy timbers posts, beams, and braces. The barn needed to be braced, temporarily shored, and carefully lifted to allow for repair of individual timbers and to allow a new foundation to be installed beneath. Once raised and out of the ground, timber posts could be plumbed, squared, and repaired before the barn frame was lowered onto a new foundation and a new heavy timber sill. Heavy timber posts were carefully repaired with matching materials using traditional heavy timber joinery. Extreme care by the historic building movers prevented collateral damage to otherwise sound portions of the historic frame. With the heavy timber frame repaired, the rest of the restoration work proceeded safely. Expert restoration carpenters focused on siding, roofing, door, and window restoration. A failed asphalt shingle roof was replaced with Alaskan Yellow Cedar taper-sawn shakes on wood skip sheathing. Doors and windows were restored with missing components and assemblies being replaced using in kind materials and traditional construction techniques. Subtle regrading of the ground around the barn promoted positive drainage away from the new sills with storm runoff being sent to daylight on a lower field northwest of the barn. The aim of the design team was to prevent future deterioration and preserve the barn for the next one hundred years.
A view of the barn’s interior after restoration. Credit: Dan Murdoch
The restoration establishes the barn as not only a local landmark, but brings it and the surrounding property back to active agricultural use. The Rockland Farm Alliance maintains the land, running a certified organic vegetable, herb, and flower farm. The farm provides produce for over 200 CSA members, as well as selling their vegetables at local farmers markets and stores, and donating surplus to local food banks. The barn, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2017, is now open to the public as a farm store for anyone looking to buy fresh, local produce.
Preserving New York’s agricultural heritage is an important way of saving part of our history while protecting open space threatened with development. The League was thrilled to see this community rally to save such an important structure and bring it back to life, and we particularly applaud Rockland County for their commitment to preservation.
A view under the barn’s breezeway after restoration. Credit: Dan Murdoch
The Cropey Farm Barn project team included: Robert Gruffi, P.E., LEED AP, Director of Facilities Management, Rockland County; John McDowell, President, Rockland County Farm Alliance; Allan Beers, Coordinator Environmental Resources, Rockland County; Bob Gablaski, Partner, Lothrop Associates | Architectural Design; Alex Stojkovic, Technical Design Staff, Lothrop Associates | Architectural Design; Derek Trelstad, Structural Engineer, Silman Structural Engineers; Gerry Rauth, MEP Engineer, Landmark Facilities Group; Gary Dinnebeil, General Contractor, Yankee Construction; Stephen Smith, General Contractor Assistant, Yankee Construction; Michael Lehman, Mechanical / Plumbing Sub-Contractor, Hauser Bros, Inc.; James Mullen, Electrical Sub-Contractor, HVS, LLC