TOWN OF NAVARINO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A piece of history at a popular Shawano County Farm is coming down soon.
The old barn at Porter’s Patch was built more than a century ago, and the owner is offering a way for people to remember the wooden structure.
“This is the family old barn. So it was built in 1910,” said Troy Porter, Porter’s Patch Owner.
Porter tells FOX 11 his family’s roots date back to 1876, when his great-grand parents settled this area in the Town of Navarino in Shawano County.
“Everyone farmed back then, and everyone had a barn back then. When you built a barn, that must have been big time.”
Porter says a lot of work went into building the 70-foot by 40-foot structure.
“You can see the beams up there, they’re all hand-hewn. They were made square that way. They didn’t have a machine that did all that. It was probably a dedicated craft.”
Porter says he remembers family stories from decades ago.
“My grandpa, when he had dairy cows here, he used to milk by hand. And my dad, as a little guy, can remember when he’d walk by, grandpa would always squirt milk right from the cows, right into his mouth.”
Over the years, the cows were gone, and this plot evolved into a farm market holding events centered around strawberries, and pumpkins too.
“There’s so many people that always, when they come into the farm, this is the mainstay, what they see. And everyone knows about the old barn.”
But Porter says Wisconsin’s weather has taken a toll, and the barn and silo have become unsafe for visitors.
“It’s not getting any better. So we will be taking it down after our Farmtoberfest season this year.”
Porter says as a tribute, he plans to offer barn wood slabs to visitors this fall.
“It’s just a piece of history, a piece of a memory for them.”
Porter says he expects the barn to come down this fall and winter.
He says there are no plans to build a new barn in its place.
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