Cranbury looks to raise barn

[Cranbury Press]

Cranbury looks to raise barn
Thursday, April 2, 2009 12:29 PM EDT
By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer

CRANBURY — There may be a barn raising somewhere in Cranbury’s future, however, raising the funds to get the project off the ground could be another story.

Municipal officials discussed the fate of a historic barn at Monday’s Township Committee meeting, which the municipality has been storing for about two years, after the structure was dismantled from a portion of the Updike Property, near Symmes Court and Wynnewood Drive.

”The current property owners had no use for the barn,” said Bill Bunting, a lifelong Cranbury resident and executive board member of the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society. “It was not in good shape so it was kind of dangerous.”

Although the individual responsible for the barn’s erection remains a mystery, the barn has a deep-rooted history in the community as it was constructed on the Alvin Updike property sometime in the late 1700s, Mr. Bunting said.

”It’s a fairly rare example in the State of New Jersey,” said Committeeman Richard Stannard.
Since the barn has been broken down to its bare bones, the township has been paying approximately $2,500 per year to store it, said Committeeman David Stout.

One proposal for the reconstructed barn was that it could serve as an agricultural museum for Cranbury, township officials said.

Township officials also suggested to Historical and Preservation Society members who attended the meeting that the “barn park” on the Updike property, near Main Street and Cranbury Neck Road, might be the most appropriate future home for the reconstructed structure.

”The understanding has always been that the township would help participate with the Historical Society in reconstructing that barn,” said Mayor Pari Stave. “We’re looking into how we might assist with the cost of laying foundation for the barn.”

Taking some preliminary estimates into account, Mayor Stave said that on the upper end, a stone face foundation would be in the neighborhood of $25,000 while a bare minimum foundation’s price tag is around $21,500.

The township already has accounted for the foundation costs in its 2009 budget under the capital improvement line item, said Township Administrator Christine Smeltzer.

Historical Society members said they will be looking into fundraising efforts to cover additional costs.

”We need ideas on how we can fundraise beyond taxpayers’ dollars,” Mayor Stave said, signaling a unified effort between both organizations.

Both the society and Township Committee members have agreed to continue keeping an open dialogue on the subject.

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2009/04/02/cranbury_press/news/doc49d4e767856cf348270088.txt

[Guest]

Is this secretly the plan for the new library building?