Pitch In For A Historic Barn Raising: Nickerson Association Restoring Barn On June 14-15

CHATHAMPORT – If you’re looking for a unique volunteer opportunity, lend a hand to the Nickerson Family Association in June when it will be organizing a real, old-fashioned barn raising. The group is seeking help erecting a historic barn that was disassembled from its original home in North Chatham, and all the work will be done by hand.

The 20-by-20-foot timber-framed barn was on private land at 68 Shell Dr. and was donated to the Nickerson association in 2021. 

Nickerson Family Association Executive Director Debra Lawless said preservationists originally thought that the barn was built by the son of William Nickerson, the town’s first European settler. While they now believe the barn stood on the younger Nickerson’s property, they cannot definitively say it was built by him, she said.

 “The NFA did a dendrochronology test and found boards dating over several centuries,” Lawless said. “It is believed the original barn more or less collapsed in time, and that boards were salvaged from it to rebuild the barn — at least twice.”

The structure was too fragile to move in a single piece, so it was “flaked,” or disassembled, and brought to the association’s land on Ryder’s Cove in pieces after a complete photo survey was conducted.

 “Timber framer Ian Ellison of Orleans is reconstructing the barn using historically-accurate techniques — in other words, no power tools,” she said.

Volunteers are being sought to help with the barn raising, scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and 15, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Ten volunteers are needed each day, and will work together to connect the six original posts to beams and wind-braces, all using oak pegs. All work will be done by hand, with no mechanical equipment. Only the main frame will be assembled in June; the roof will go on at a later date.

Volunteers are asked to provide their own work boots, gloves and hard hats; lunch and beverages will be provided. To learn more or sign up, email wmnick1107@gmail.com.

 The Nickerson Family Association is making a film showing all aspects of the work, from deconstruction to restoration, Lawless said. When the job is complete, the restored barn will be used for educational programs and to provide an example of early Colonial barn construction.