This barn was moved and donated to the Ogemaw County Fairgrounds.
Dedication to local History
Barn Restorations began with Bob Griffin Jr’s interest in building, which lead to an interest in Timber Frame construction. Bob Griffin lamenting one day about the need to tear down a barn he owned in Saginaw. This barn was no longer used, and in a business district. Bob Griffin Jr. told him that we did not need to tear it down, we could just move it. They went and inspected the barn, found it in good enough shape and began the plans for the move. Garry Illig tagged the pieces per Bob Jr. instructions, and the disassembly began. Foundation was poured at Griffin Sr. house, and the entire structure was reassembled and still in use today. Several pieces had to be sawed with Bob Jr.’s Woodmizer sawmill, as well as much of the roof rafters and about half of the barn sheeting. Unfortunately, we did not get many pictures of the process.
The reason we mention these barn projects is to show and hopefully inspire others to repurpose these old timber barns. To many of these structures are lost to time each year, and it is possible to take them apart, relocate and reuse, in a very cost effective manner. It is a lot of work, but we had no special skillsets when we began these, and learned along the way.
Barn #1 Moved from Saginaw to West Branch
Story
Barn #2
This barn was advertised as Free to whomever wanted to disassemble. Bob and Garry once again tackled this project. It is likely built in the 1860-70’s, in Saginaw County. This barn is still in storage and ready to be reused one day.
Barn #3
This barn was purchased by the Griffin family in 1982, from the Gildner Family. The sellers worked on our farm for decades. This barn was in poor condition and needed extensive repairs. It was also in a poor location to be used much as a farm barn. The decision was made to approach the Ogemaw County Fairgrounds, and see if they would like a true timber frame barn in their Antique Village. The answer was pretty much, “Sure, knock yourself out if you want to build it”. With the help of the Beechy brothers from Gladwin, Garry Illig, Dan Orr and other local contractors (Green Excavating and Dan Winter Concrete for the foundation work) the barn was disassembled and reassembled over several months. Bob Griffin Jr. cut all new sheeting, as well as 25% of the beams that were in need of replacement. This included cutting 5, 35 ft 10×10 beams on a 20ft sawmill! A difficult task.
Once the frame was assembled, and the last peg pounded, as per timber frame tradition, a Topping Ceremony was held and the public invited. The Topping Ceremony is to install a sapling tree to the highest point of a Timber Frame, as homage to the trees that provided the material for the structure. Then, a keg is tapped to celebrate the occasion. (For this occasion, we used 16 oz kegs as pictured below)
This barn is now used for events at the Fairgrounds and is available for rent to the public.
This Barn was awarded the Barn of the Year, for 2022 by the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, and was dedicated to Bob Griffin Sr, who passed away in 2019.
Barn #4
This Barn was moved from Sage Lake Road and Morrison Road, Ogemaw County, in July 2023. (44.35266,-84.09949)
It appears to have been originally constructed around 1880 when the Dantzer family acquired the land. It was disassembled and reconstructed by Bob Griffin Jr, Gary Illig, Dan Orr, Anthony Green, Daniel Beechy, Ezra Beechy, Ezra Beechy II, Earnest Beechy. It is currently used at the family hunting property, Beer Camp Ranch. On one post, the known history was engraved for future generations. This barn also received recognition from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network, with Bob Griffin Jr. as a presenter for the 2024 spring convention.
Barn #5
2023 was a busy year for Barn work. This barn was the family farm, located at Cook Rd in West Branch. It can be seen North of the Walmart Supercenter. As many old barns, the sheeting was weather worn and in need of replacement, as well as a couple upper beams, and a new roof. The addition of new sheeting significantly enhanced the strength of the old barn, as each board helps add strength to the frame.
We like to think that every couple decades, some maintenance should be done to these old structures. We are hopeful that this barn continues to stand, where the Farm meets the City.
Disassembly
The barn was disassembled in July 2023, to be moved and restored. Circ 1880 era