“Here in the Town of Sweden we do have some ‘noble buildings’ which are symbols of the way people once lived and worked and which enrich our surroundings. They are buildings in which children can live, laugh and learn about the history of our community and grow to appreciate the contributions of their ancestors.” Those words were part of a press release in which the Town of Sweden Barn Committee announced the beginning of its barn survey project in 2007, “in order to record the treasures of the past that are still standing.”
In the first phase of the survey, photos of barns and some carriage houses have been provided to The Brockport Village office, Brockport Community Museum (BCM), and the Sweden Farmers Museum.
Kathy Goetz, heading the survey, commented on the current “second stage” underway. “We are once again focusing on this treasure we have in our midst, the carriage barns, updating the survey that was done, re-doing pictures, and doing more interior shots,” she said. “We will be adding to our archives and to the web site of BCM, making the images and information accessible to the community. And that’s important to a lot of younger people who would use the internet and the web.”
Goetz is the Town of Sweden historian and a member of the BCM board. She is a member of the Sweden Farmers Museum board and heads the museum’s Barn Committee which is conducting the survey. Supporting the significance of Brockport’s carriage houses, she cited Cynthia Howk of the Landmark Society as saying, “Brockport has the largest number of carriage barns still standing in all of Monroe County” estimated at over 60.
Kevin G. Johnson, Sweden Town Supervisor, expressed his appreciation for historic barns and carriage houses in an historic context:
“The barns and carriage houses we have here in Sweden and Brockport are beautiful impressive structures, a tangible connection to the past which we can all enjoy. They also symbolize the amazing transformation that our country went through during the Victorian Era. As many people across the country and in our area made the transition from farms to cities and villages, their housing, storage and transportation needs changed. No longer were large barns designed for farming needed by every family; instead carriage houses began to proliferate.”
Margay Blackman, Mayor of Brockport, has a unique perspective on carriage houses as owner of one which will be included in the survey. And, she says, “I am excited about this project!”
“The many 19th century carriage houses in Brockport are an untold story, seemingly disconnected from the historic homes to which they belonged. Some evolved into garages, storage spaces and workshops, and a few have been made over into apartments. My Park Avenue home dates from 1833, but the carriage house was constructed in 1875 or slightly later. Inside, at the rear, are two mangers, and it surely housed a carriage at one time. A stairway to the loft can be raised and lowered by a cable connected to a coal bucket of iron bolts in the loft. The imprint of a former low roofline on the rear exterior of the carriage house suggests a chicken coop. The rest is a mystery.” She continues…
“And then there’s the recent history housed there: the remains of my daughter’s freshman RISD art project which languishes in the loft and the now tattered white sheets hung on the front loft wall for an artist studio she created.” And, as artifacts of the mayor’s own history, the loft holds hundreds of signs left over from by-gone political campaigns.
Allan Berry is president of the Brockport Community Museum. “The Brockport Community Museum is delighted to collaborate with the Sweden Farmers Museum which has been working to document barns in the Town of Sweden and Village of Brockport,” he said. “The information gathered is being shared with the community through the BCM web site at http://brockportcommunitymuseum.org/ under ‘Topics’ and ‘Farmscapes.’ Brockport is certainly fortunate to have such interest in and commitment to recording and preserving its history.”
Town Supervisor Johnson praised the project, saying, “I deeply appreciate the care and effort of the residents of our Town and Village in preserving these irreplaceable remains of our shared past. I also think that the cataloging work of the Sweden Farmer’s Museum and the Brockport Community Museum is a terrific first step toward making these important structures more accessible to those wishing to learn about the history of our community. I commend these organizations for their efforts.”
A coal bucket of iron bolts is suspended from a pulley in the attic of Mayor Blackman’s carriage house. It is a counterbalance for the folding stairway to the loft (also shown). It is still in use, restored with a steel cable after the original rope broke. Photos by Dianne Hickerson.
