Eleven Historic Rural Structures Receive Preservation Grants
October 3, 2007 - When Finnish immigrant Charles Fant arrived on the Enumclaw Plateau in the 1880s, he dreamed of owning a farm. Working as a logger, he saved enough money to buy 160 acres for a dairy operation. Using timber on the property near Auburn, he hewed lumber by hand and put up a barn around 1910. He also constructed a machine shed, a wagon shed, and a chicken house, and all are still standing today, under the care of a descendant, Sunny Lappenbusch. However, the barn needs a roof, and when Lappenbusch heard about King County's Heritage Barn Preservation Program grants, she jumped at the chance for some assistance. "It was like an angel was looking out for the barn," she says.
 The Lappenbusch Farm was among eleven recipients of a total of $75,000 in grants awarded by the King County Landmarks Commission and the King County Historic Preservation Program, in partnership with Preservation 4Culture. The program provides matching funds to help property owners stabilize, rehabilitate, and restore their barns and other rural structures, so that these historic buildings may continue to serve the community. More than $500,000 in requests were received for just $75,000 in available money. Lappenbusch says her $6,000 grant will go toward repairing her barn's failing roof. "I'm very grateful," she says, "and I'm ready to get to work."
The other Heritage Barn Preservation Program grant recipients are:
 Ollala Canyon Farm (Christopher Laubenthal, $7,500): The owner of the Olalla Canyon Farm on Vashon Island will match the grant amount with an equal amount and repair the unusual cedar shake roof to maintain the barn's historic integrity.
 Tucker Place (Bob & Laurie Tucker, $7,600): Long held by the same family on Vashon Island, the Tucker Place barn represents a rare type of timber framing, and the owners plan to make urgent repairs to the foundation.
 Millarich Place (John Millarich, $15,000): The Millarich Barn is a functioning component of an intact farmstead still in active use. The farm is well very maintained and highly visible on the Enumclaw Plateau. Replacement of the aging wood shingle roof is considered critical to continued farming operations.
 Albrecht Place (Donovan A. Albrecht, $600): The chicken brooder at the Albrecht Farm near Sammamish is an example of a disappearing property type in King County. The property is well maintained and historically significant. The funding will enable wood trim repair and painting.
 Gladstone Farm (Sylvia H. Castro, $3,000): The small, early barn at Gladstone Farm near Woodinville is one of the last standing in this area of suburban residential development. The property remains in agricultural use as an organic beef farm, and the barn is used for hay storage and calf housing.
 River Willow Farm (Valorie Bordon, $7,500): River Willow Farm is under consideration for King County Landmark designation. The farm near Duvall is in agricultural use for cattle, horses, and chickens. Built in 1906, the barn is framed with hand-hewn timbers, an increasingly rare type. The project involves urgent stabilization of the north wing.
 Cherry Valley Farms (Cherry Valley Farms LLC, $14,000): Cherry Valley Farms in Duvall is a working commercial dairy farm. Its large bow truss hay barn is visually prominent and open to the public, in an area that is rapidly filling with new residential development. Funding will help the owner replace the shake roof with a metal roof.
 The Farm at Novelty (Larry and Janetta Pickering, $6,300): Long owned by the same family, the Farm at Novelty near Duvall remains in active use. Funding will resolve the recurring drainage issue that is endangering the barns.
 Broad Acre Farm (Joseph Hayes, $3,500): Broad Acre Farm in Carnation is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A former dairy farm, the land is used for raising Spanish horses and foals. The hay barn is one of the earliest built bow truss barns in Snoqualmie Valley. Funding will help repair the ridge cap and siding on the hay and calf barns.
 Serres Farm (William and Nancy Serres, $4,000): The Serres Farm outside Redmond has been open to the public as a U-pick fruit, vegetable, and Christmas tree farm for 30 years. Funding will go toward repairing the barn's lower walls and sill plates.
2007 was the first year of the Heritage Barn Preservation Program. Additional funding for an extension of the program into 2008 is being sought. For more information, contact Flo Lentz, Preservation 4Culture, 206.296.8682.
related links
|
