Reconstruction of early-1800’s Threshing Barn at Historic Hull House in Lancaster Further Restores Family Farm Setting at Site
$106,000 Erie County Cultural Capital Grant Powers Historically Correct Trip Back in Time
ERIE COUNTY, NY— History comes alive at the historic Hull House in Lancaster, offering visitors a glimpse into life on an early 1800s farm of over one hundred acres at a time when Erie County was vastly different from today. Thanks to an Erie County Cultural Capital Grant of $106,659 the Hull House Foundation has reconstructed an early 1800s threshing barn at the site, adding a historically correct structure that would have been essential to the farm’s operation two hundred years ago. The project adds to the immersive experience visitors have when visiting the Hull House, which itself has been fully restored, and is the result of careful planning and coordination with consultants and contractors.
“The Hull House is an irreplaceable piece of Erie County history, a glimpse into our agricultural past that provides a living snapshot of what life was like two hundred years ago. Protecting, preserving and maintaining treasures such as this is what our Cultural Capital Grant program is meant to do,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “By investing countywide in sites such as the Hull House we are not just keeping our history alive, we are proudly proclaiming that history to this generation and the next. I thank all the partners who worked together on the reconstruction of the threshing barn and look forward to more restorations here at the Hull House.”
Poloncarz was joined at the Hull House today by Erie County legislator Frank Todaro (8th District), Hull House Foundation President Gary Costello and Hull House trustees, and personnel from the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning to view the recently completed threshing barn.
“We are immensely grateful to Erie County and the Cultural Capital grant program, without which we would have had a much more difficult time in completing this restoration. This Erie County grant program provided almost 70% of the total funds needed to make it happen,” said Hull House Foundation President Gary Costello. “The Hull House Foundation, and the Hull Family Home & Farmstead - is an educational institution of the State of New York. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the New York State Register. Our living history museum fosters an awareness and understanding of the Hull family, and the early history, settlement, and development of the western New York region by presenting programs, living history events, lectures and field trips for our community and students.”
“The threshing barn adds a most important element to the farmstead, providing us with a great opportunity to interpret the agricultural lifestyle of the Hulls - and the many steps of wheat farming - from sowing to harvesting to threshing and on to the mill for grinding into flour,” Costello added.
The historically correct threshing barn was acquired in Central New York and, with the help of experts, was disassembled, had timbers labeled and repaired, and was stored on the Hull House property for reconstruction. The site’s original threshing barn was lost to disrepair many years ago. The building was essential to farming operations as grain crops such as wheat and barley were “threshed” to separate the grain from the chaff and stored for sale or family use in baking. Horse stalls were also maintained.
“The cultural grant funding for the Hull House is an important investment for this historic gem in Lancaster. Given its significance as the only fully restored stone house of the early 1800s in Erie County, the Hull House serves as an important historical landmark,” said Erie County legislator Frank Todaro (8th District). “At nearly 215 years old, the Hull House helps tell the story of early western New York, and it’s a history we should celebrate. This funding helps in efforts to protect this significant structure.”
The Hull House Foundation continues to work towards completing the vision for the Hull Family Home & Farmstead of developing a fully restored home and farmstead to represent, portray and interpret for the public the workings of an early 19th century agricultural farm on the Niagara Frontier. The accurate interpretation of a wheat farm is dependent upon the explanation and demonstration of the multi-step wheat-growing process, from seed to harvest to grain. The storage of sheaths of wheat, the threshing
process and the storage of the grain prior to shipping to a grain mill are all aspects of the process; thus the need to restore a period-correct threshing barn on the Hull farmstead.
For more information:
On the Historic Hull House & Farmstead, visit www.HullFamilyHome.com
On the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning, visit
https://www3.erie.gov/environment/
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