Old Sears Barn Gets A New Life
Nancy Rumsey says when her husband’s dad Doyle heard that a 110-year-old barrel barn near his farm, in fairly decent shape, was about to be torn down, he was quite upset. The barn had historic significance because it was originally ordered from a Sears catalog and built in 1910. Nancy says he’d seen that barn for years and thought, “Why the heck can’t I save it if they don’t want it?” Over the next few years, that’s exactly what happened.
Rumsey and his six sons launched a plan to move the barn to their father’s farm. Their initial plan was to lift the complete barn onto a moving skid and haul it the 3 miles to Rumsey’s farm. That idea was scuttled when they learned that reinforcing it for the move was too difficult. Instead, they hired a crane service to carefully lift the radius roof from the side walls and set it onto a supporting frame. The base walls were then jacked up and placed on large steel beams by a local house mover.
The Rumsey crew pulled the base with a Case tractor 3 miles down the township road to their father’s farm site. Soon after, the roof structure made the same trek. Nancy says rebuilding and restoring the barn was quite a project. A crane lifted the roof structure back onto the supporting walls, and then the sons reinforced and re-roofed the entire structure. Over the years, the Rumsey’s new (old) barn has hosted numerous sleepovers, family reunions, and even prom for the grandchildren. Nancy says it’s now a cherished piece for the entire family.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rumsey Ranch, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
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Old Sears Barn Gets A New Life BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Nancy Rumsey says when her husband’s dad Doyle heard that a 110-year-old barrel barn near his farm in fairly decent shape was about to be torn down he was quite upset The barn had historic significance because it was originally ordered from a Sears catalog and built in 1910 Nancy says he’d seen that barn for years and thought “Why the heck can’t I save it if they don’t want it?” Over the next few years that’s exactly what happened Rumsey and his six sons launched a plan to move the barn to their father’s farm Their initial plan was to lift the complete barn onto a moving skid and haul it the 3 miles to Rumsey’s farm That idea was scuttled when they learned that reinforcing it for the move was too difficult Instead they hired a crane service to carefully lift the radius roof from the side walls and set it onto a supporting frame The base walls were then jacked up and placed on large steel beams by a local house mover The Rumsey crew pulled the base with a Case tractor 3 miles down the township road to their father’s farm site Soon after the roof structure made the same trek Nancy says rebuilding and restoring the barn was quite a project A crane lifted the roof structure back onto the supporting walls and then the sons reinforced and re-roofed the entire structure Over the years the Rumsey’s new old barn has hosted numerous sleepovers family reunions and even prom for the grandchildren Nancy says it’s now a cherished piece for the entire family Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rumsey Ranch Idaho Falls Idaho
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