The disappearance of so many timber frame barns has left a great void in much of the countryside. Although the Town of Berkshire has lost many of these structures as well, there are still many that have survived and there is still enough variety that the changes and evolution of barns over a 200 year time span can be experienced.

This is the theme of a tour on Saturday, May 3, at 9:00 am, sponsored by the Newark Valley Historical Society and the Berkshire History Buffs. The tour will begin at the farm of Sheldon Davis, a farm which has been in the family since the early 1800's and is still a working dairy. The original threshing barn built in the early 1800's still exists although it was removed from its original site and raised so that a dairy herd could be placed in the basement. It was expanded a second time in the 1940's when a barn from the Town of Dryden was disassembled and added to one end.

The farmstead of Roy Gregrow has some interesting features. The main barn consists of two threshing barns which were joined together. This was a common practice when the diary herds expanded in the period after the Civil War. There are two other barns which offer interesting features when one becomes familiar with barn history. At the Brink Farm, which is still a working dairy, three generations of barns can be seen, including a modern metal pole barn.

The tour is being led by Ed Nizalowski of the Newark Valley Historical Society, who has been studying barn history for several years. Ed was chairman of the Herrick Barn Committee. The Herrick Barn is an early 1800's barn which was disassembled in 1996 to be reconstructed at the site of the Bement-Billings Farmstead in the Town of Newark Valley. A specific date for reconstruction has not been established yet. The tour is $10 per person, with checks payable to Newark Valley Historical Society, Box 222, Newark Valley, NY 13811. Participants should meet at the Berkshire Fire Hall on Route 38 at 8:30 am for car pooling with the tour beginning at 9:00. Space is limited, so please send in your reservations early.