AG MUSEUM BARN RESTORATION

Click on the "pictures" button to follow the progress of the reconstruction.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:   

George Looby, Chairman; Harold Foskett, Calvin Neely and Dexter Young

On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, a brief ground breaking ceremony was held on the Woodstock Fair Grounds to signal the start of the construction of an agricultural museum on the fairgrounds.  Museum committee member Harold Foskett mounted his 1930's vintage Farmall F-20 and excavated the first scoop of soil from the foundation site and dumped it into an early Ford dump truck owned by fellow committee member Calvin Neely.

In mid October work began on dismantling a historic barn located on  Butts Road in Woodstock, CT.  This barn will be reconstructed on the fairgrounds for use as an agricultural museum.  The planning and development of this project has been four years in the making.

A contract was signed with Lebanon Country Collections, a firm specializing in historic restorations, to be the primary contractor for the project.  The site for the barn's relocation will be in the area where antique farm equipment is displayed during the fair.

The concept of an agricultural museum is an outgrowth of the ever popular display of antique farm equipment assembled annually for the fair.  The concept is to preserve and display the history of agriculture in Woodstock concentrating on the period from 1860 to 1950.  The face of agriculture in Connecticut is undergoing continual change.  The Woodstock Agricultural Society, the sponsor of Woodstock Fair, felt it was important to preserve those artifacts that are representative of the tools, equipment and supplies that made agriculture such an important part of Woodstock's history.  The committee feels that it is critical that as many representative artifacts as possible be preserved for the education of future generations.

When the restoration is completed, the museum will be open to fairgoers and also made available to school children of northeastern Connecticut when they study the history of their area.  It is further hoped that the facility will be open on select weekends during the fall season to provide an additional attraction in the area for the seasonal tourist trade.