To Niles the one hundred and forty year old barn was a corner of heaven.
He did not know it, but this building had been in the family since 1910. Five generations had made their living here. The foundation, which rose eight feet above the surrounding land, consisted of stones collected from the surrounding fields. Wide doors on the main floor opened to an earthen ramp that led down to ground level. The ramp‘s gentle incline made it easier for the horses to pull heavy loads into the barn. The wooden beams and trusses were joined with mortises and tenons, which did not require nails.
Niles saw that some of the trusses were charred.
He went back to Jon and asked, “Why is the wood up there burnt?”
Jon said, “Those trees got scorched in the Peshtigo Fire. In 1871, a fire started in a logging camp on the other side of Green Bay. The wind carried embers over to our side of the bay and our woods started burning. Many of those trees were used to build barns around here. The fire killed between 1,200 and 2,500 people and covered over 1,800 square miles. It started on the same day as the great Chicago fire which killed about 300 people and burnt 3.3 square miles. So, the great Chicago fire wasn’t really so great.”
Niles went on to study the old tools, equipment, and detritus scattered around one end of the barn. Some of it hung on the walls or from the ceiling, including: harnesses and tack for work horses, huge two person saws, animal traps like you see in Looney Tunes cartoons (one bear trap was 30 inches wide), a surrey with a fringed roof, a grey 1949 Dodge sedan sitting on wood blocks, a duck hunting boat hanging from the ceiling. There were fishing rods from the 1940‘s and 50‘s, a toboggan with a missing board, a Cushman scooter (rodents had gnawed on the seat), ancient bicycles, and much-much more. At least a dozen cats patrolled the area.
A separate workroom filled one end of the floor.
Niles opened the beautiful handmade door of the workroom and his life was never the same.