The Springhill Farmstead
The Springhill Farm was originally located in Walker, Michigan (northwest of Grand Rapids) and dates back to the 1840s. Owned by the Edison family, the Springhill Barn was built in the 1870s. Recently, the barn and farmstead became threatened by development, prompting its benefactors, Mary Tatroe and the Edison and Mawby families, to donate the barn to Tillers in an effort to preserve its historic legacy.
With a need for additional farmsteads and the generosity of Mary Tatroe and Russ Mawby in funding the moving of the barn, Tillers was delighted to help save the barn from the developers' wrecking ball. It is now one of the oldest structures at Tillers' Cook's Mill Learning Center.
The Springhill Barn is a grand 1870s bank barn, which had horse stalls and dairy stanchions in the basement. It also has a raised level drive in hay mow floor, which makes unloading and stacking hay much easier. Hay is tossed down from above, greatly reducing the amount of lifting involved. Being originally located on a hilltop dairy and fruit farm, it seemed appropriate to relocate it to one of the hilly sites in the northeast of the Cook's Mill property. The bank barn, with a basement for livestock and a high ramp to the hay loft, fits nicely into a south-facing hillside. Some of the surrounding Cook's Mill hilltop fields should also have adequate air drainage for apple orchards. Mary's father was a dedicated Shorthorn and Jersey herdsman and her husband a skilled orchard man. In keeping with their spirit, Tillers has put a herd of Milking Shorthorns at the new farmstead. We are exploring reverting them to triple purpose animals (as was practiced historically) by adding milking to our current beef and draft uses.
The original farmstead also included an 18x24' bull barn and a 30x80' toolshed, which we plan to replicate in the future. With two floors, the toolshed had tremendous storage capacity and a simple design and construction. Tillers has carefully measured the interrelationships of the buildings on the original site in order to preserve the efficiency of several generations of planning, thought, and experience.
Tillers has also moved a large boulder with a chiseled out basin that was filled by an artesian well (thus Springhill), which served as a watering trough for passing horses and travelers. The boulder has the name "Springhill Farm" carved into it.
At some point, Tillers may be able to replicate the original Springhill farmhouse. The house currently on site in Walker dates to around 1900. As moving it would have been impractical, it is being preserved as a historical museum for the town of Walker. In order to preserve the chronological accuracy of the farmstead, Tillers plans to replicate the earlier house that stood on the property at the time the Springhill Barn was built. Detailed measurements of its layout are available should Tillers begin its replication.
The newly reconstructed Springhill Barn is in its final stages of finish here at Tillers' Cook's Mill. With the structure, roof, and siding in place, Construction Coordinator Rob Burdick is currently working on completing its finishing touches. Having poured a cement floor in the basement, Rob has constructed new stalls and mangers. Volunteer Dave Kramer has led construction of the barn's cupola, which will be installed once it's been roofed. The large barn has been painted in the original red with white trim. Batten strips, safety rails for the bridge into the upper story, fencing, and feed troughs have been installed. Remaining projects include eave troughs, an oak finish floor and doors for the granary, additional stone work, plumbing.
During our stone masonry classes, we have also constructed a spring house, which will serve as a cooling space for garden vegetables and dairy products to illustrate pre-refrigeration technology. We will also place a fruit and root cellar into the hill off the east porch of the spring house.
Tillers would like to thank Mary Tatroe and the Edison and Mawby families for their generous support of this project, not only in donating the barn, but also in funding its reconstruction and finishing. We'd also like to thank the volunteers who have donated time to the project.
The Springhill Barn was featured in the Fall 2009 newsletter of the Michigan Barn Preservation Network. Click to view the newsletter (PDF 1.2M)!
The Michigan Barn Preservation Network named the Springhill Barn its 2010 Barn of the Year!
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