Tool Tuesday; construction...

[johan_steele]

Percy Crowel and his wife, Clara, bought a plot of land a mile or so down the road. Originally from Alabama he found freedom by chance a year or so prior to the war. Through a small bit of forgery and more than a little bit of larceny I helped his wife and him to freedom. He joined the Army after the emancipation proclamation and with about a third of the black population of Minnesota helped form a company of infantry. After the war he found that I had returned to Minnesota and chose to purchase land near to me. He is an honest neighbor who I like very much. He is a good god fearing man who only rarely partakes in my drink. I do not care of the color of his skin, only the color of his coin matters to me. No one dares say anything about his presence in my tavern while I am present. The only time a man made mention of it I simply stated that Crowel wore blue in the war and the man complaining did not. He is a member of our local GAR and no one that I know of in our camp has complained.

Percy heard me speak of the construction projects I had worked on while in the Legion and during the War of Rebellion; as a result he asked for my assistance. Percy acquired some lumber from the sawmill and some from his timber. Our acquaintance Willy did splendid mortis & tenon work. But the finish work left something to be desired. The explanation Percy gave amused me; he opined that the cattle and horses that would reside in the barn were not all that interested in clean and crisp work. About twenty of us helped in the construction of the barn and it took us the better part of a month to haul away about thirty wagon loads of dirt and set the foundation. Once that was done the frame went up in short order with the roof and walls following without too much trouble.

Most of the building in North Africa had been stone but timber is plentiful here and truth be told I prefer timber when it comes to construction. My own inn and stable are a mix of wood and stone construction to better weather the winter. The problem with stone construction is it does a poor job of keeping snakes and mice at bay. My lovely wife is not fond of visiting livestock. She has imported a trio of cats to deal with the mice and rats that try to find their way into the inn and stable. They are accomplished mousers and I must admit to having grown rather fond of them. In the winter they invade the inn occasionally getting under foot but their soft fur and purring is oddly welcome to me. Whenever Mrs. Mina dares sit down one or more cats suddenly appear in her lap. One of them has a taste for my scotch and will sneak a tongue full when the opportunity presents itself.

The reward and thanks for assisting my neighbor in building his barn has been an influx of fresh milk, something I enjoy greatly. A unasked for reward like that for work willingly given is quite nice.

 

[Seduzal]

Nice photos. These old barns have lasted many years. With just a little up keep they will last many more...Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

Blacksnakes are how to keep the rats and mice away.
My Grandfather had a barn at the bottom of the pasture about a half mile away from the house and rest of the outbuildings. It was mostly used for green lumber to season, but still had some loose hay in the hayloft.
Great fat blacksnakes lived there, and you could always see several laying fat and happy, stretched out on a beam along the wall - they like to sun themselves in the beams that came through the mow window. They were fat because they are rats and mice.