15,400 sq. foot haul | An estimated $250,000 will be spent to relocate historic barn near Pincher Creek, Alberta
PINCHER CREEK, Alta. — It shouldn’t be too hard, in theory, to move a barn a few kilometres up the road.
But this 1938 barn has two 110-foot long sections, each 35 feet high. That’s a total of 15,400 sq. feet of space to be moved through the farmyard, across Pincher Creek (the waterway, not the town), across Highway 3 and across the Oldman River Dam to a new home.
It’s why it’s going to cost an estimated $250,000.
The barn was built by Boss Zoete-man, a dairy farmer from Pincher Creek, who used it until he sold it to the Vogelaar brothers in the late 1950s.
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They used it for their own dairy operation until 1972 and then continued to maintain and use it for other purposes.
The farm operation, including the barn, was sold to Sproule Agro of Pincher Creek earlier this year, and the new owner has no use for the barn.
Organizers at the Heritage Acres Farm Museum, about 16 km away, are raising money for the move and preparing a new foundation for its arrival in early February.
Rob Mitchell, president of the Oldman River Equipment and Threshing Club, which operates Heritage Acres, said this isn’t the first overture his group has had regarding the barn. The first one came from the Vogelaars.
“It was 10 or 15 years ago that it was actually offered to Heritage Acres for $1,” he said.
“Heritage Acres always thought it would be lovely to have, but nobody tackled the project and so it got down to the point where it was either move it or it was going to be demolished.”
Mitchell said the barn has unique construction worthy of preservation and will be useful for storage and displays at the farm museum.
“This lends itself to storing, displaying and telling the story of the early cattle industry,” he said.
“Also, it’s a dairy barn, so of course we’d like to see part of it used to display and tell the story of the dairy industry from the time that every quarter section had a milk cow and the importance of that to the agricultural industry. Most people would tell you that those cream cheques put groceries on the table.”
Holmes Building Movers of Stavely, Alta., will do the move and is reducing its price to $75,000 from $95,000 as a contribution to the project, Mitchell said.
AltaLink, which is now installing a new transmission line in the region, will lift the necessary power lines at no cost, as will Fortis Alberta on its lines.
A new foundation will cost $40,000, while other spending items include a new roof, paint and related labour.
Mitchell said requests for financial assistance have been well received.
“We probably have close to $200,000 of the project in kind and in cash. We could use a little more cash right at the moment.”
The group also plans to apply for matching provincial government grants available for facility enhancement.
“The support has been absolutely stupendous,” said Susan Vogelaar, one of the volunteers soliciting donations for the project.
“I haven’t talked to anybody who’s had any negative reaction about it. I think that’s a positive for the community, for sure.”
The tentative date for the move is Feb. 4, but it will depend on weather and wind conditions.
