Brandon Twp.-With changing times and communities expanding, parts of history are starting to get lost in the rubble. Such is the case for a 100 year old barn on Dartmouth and Seymour Lake roads that succumbed to the wrecking ball on May 29.
For almost 20 years the barn was owned by the Shwartzwalders who trained and raised harness racehorses. The barn was made of oak, which naturally preserved itself for more than 100 years. The hand made barn still had visible axe marks on many of its beams.
When the couple moved away in 1995, the 2.5 acre lot was sold to the township, then eventually sold to developer Larry Denio of American Real Estate from Kingsley Farms.
Currently, Denio is building a mini-subdivision consisting of seven lots, all approximately four acres. The barn was located on the first lot.
‘I tried for months to find a buyer for the barn. It was such a shame to see it torn down, but I couldn’t keep it standing without someone wanting to buy the $89,000 lot it stood on,? said Denio.
On site during the demolition was Denio’s partner and owner of ALC Custom Homes, Lee Perry. Perry said they had four or five people looking into purchasing the lot with the intentions to keep the structure intact, even one person from Indiana.
‘We tried doing everything we could to preserve it,? said Perry. ‘We waited until the last minute but the people that bought the property didn’t want it on the property. We even tried to find buyers on the internet.?
The cost to repair the barn would have been approximately $15,000 to meet the township variances and codes.
After much time and energy, Perry’s and Denio’s efforts to save the barn were becoming less and less hopeful and they had to push on with construction.
Don Harrison, of Harrison Hoe in Ortonville, used a backhoe in the four hour process.
‘I don’t feel so bad about tearing it down. When I started looking at the barn, the foundation beams were very rotten,? said Harrison. ‘There’s a lot of bug damage, but we’re going to save a lot of the wood.?
The land has been approved for residential development.