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History of the Barn
Erected between 1906 and 1911 and measuring 80 foot by 60 foot and 25 foot high, the Orr barn is one of the largest
standing barns from its era. Uniquely built as a horse barn, it contains no hayloft above, or area for cows below, as was
common. Instead, the whole center area was used for hay storage. The hay was brought to the outside of the North end of the
barn by horse and hay wagon. Using a horse located outside the South end of the barn, the hay was raised to the peak of the
barn with a ladder-type sling, and pulled along a rail the length of the barn to the drop location. The sling was
released, the hay dropped, and the pulley system returned to the North end to get the second bundle each wagon usually contained.
The side wings contained 27 stalls for stabling the many workhorses used and a few stalls for milking cows.
Construction would have been completed by family, neighbours, and hired help, without the use of electric saws, or nailguns.
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