Preservation Bloomfield

The BeeHive Ball III - Save the Barton Farmhouse!

Friends and supporters are flocking to the BeeHive Ball III, the annual major fundraiser for Preservation Bloomfield. The event will be held at the Village Club on Friday, May 14th from 6 - 10pm and all community members who are interested in maintaining and enhancing our historical roots are encouraged and invited to join the fun.

See the link below for further information and the invitation. We would love to have you join the party and help to raise money for the wonderful preservation activities of our community.

Newsletter

The Barton Farmhouse - Adapting, evolving, still connected

History is who we were, who we are and who we will be. The stories of all great civilizations are told through their art and architecture. The simple Greek Revival lines of the Barton farmhouse reflect the ideals of a young, struggling nation, less that fifty years old when the house was built.

This house reflects the eagerness and determination of this country's populace to carry out the ideals of democracy even into the unsettled area of the Michigan Territory. Its hand hewn beams reflect the technology of the day and natural resources that were once bountiful but now no longer available. The simple and strong mortise and tenon construction reflect the craftsmanship of a vanished skill. The name etched into the window pane reflects the joy and aspirations of a young woman on her wedding day. The care in which it has been expanded and maintained shows the appreciation of beauty and culture across time and generation. The Barton Farm House tells a story of appreciation of beauty and culture across time and generations.

The lives of the families who have called the Barton Farmhouse "home" provide a glimpse into the story of the development of our own Bloomfield area. The stories of their lives describe Bloomfield history as it evolved from an agrarian economy to a fashionable "country" address to a more traditional and distinct suburban region.

On November 10, 1821 John Wetmore of New York registered his purchase of the original 160 acres where the Barton Farmhouse stood on the south side of Long Lake Road between Kensington and Squirrel roads. Some time later, Wetmore sold the property to young James D. Benjamin. Most likely it was Benjamin who built the original Farmhouse. Constructed in the Greek Revival style, the Farmhouse reflects the dominant American domestic architecture of the period between 1830 and 1860. Greek Revival was so dominant that its popularity led it to be called the National Style.

John and Mary Pathcet arrived in Birmingham from England in the 1830s with their son David and his young family. Two of David's daughters, Elizabeth and Emma, married into other early families - the Hagermans and the Heacocks - and located adjacent to the Farmhouse.

Bloomfield was still a quiet rural farm community. Until well past the Civil War, Oakland County farmers "tilled more land than in any other county in Michigan, grew more potatoes, corn and wheat (exported to world markets as a top-grade product). They churned more butter and herded more cattle." That was about to change.

From the mid-1850s Detroit experienced rapid growth. George Hendrie, with several friends, arrived in Detroit from Canada and assumed an important role in the industrial development of the city. They became prosperous multi-millionaires as they contributed largely to the growth of Detroit from a city of 50,000 when they arrived, to a city of more than a million inhabitants.

Transportation between Detroit and Bloomfield improved with the prospect of an easy commute to a "country home" setting the stage for large farmsteads in Bloomfield to be converted to country estates. A 1920s edition of "The Social Secretary" lists "Country Home: Hunting Hall, RFD No. 2, Bloomfield Hills". That was the home of George Hendrie's son William who located next to his brother George Trowbridge Hendrie. Their spinster sisters Margaret and Sarah acquired the nearby Farmhouse and many of the surrounding acres and lived there at what they called "The Covert". Both well educated and world-traveled, they brought much to the community.

Across Long Lake Road from the Hendrie sisters and the Farmhouse was the Bloomfield Open Hunt Club. The original 1834 Hagerman farmhouse had become its first clubhouse. George Trowbridge Hendrie and his brother William were on the founding executive committee. Riding trails ran throughout the area.

In 1937 Margaret Hendrie and her sister Sarah sold the Farmhouse and several acres to Carol O. Barton who with his family treasured the house and its nearby 25 acres for seventy years. Bloomfield Hills had become a city. Barton was co-founder of the internationally known Barton Malow construction company which the year before had just achieved more than a million dollars in sales volume.

During the years that his family owned the Farmhouse, the company continued to grow, weathering the Depression and the Second World War. A successful businessman, Barton was known for his honesty and for his ability to infuse his company with the essence of his personal philosopy, civic mindedness and philanthropic principles which continue through today.

Developers purchased the property and graciously offered the Barton Farmhouse to the community for $1. As a result of the efforts of the Friends of Preservation Bloomfield, funds were raised and in 2007 the Farmhouse was moved from the original location on Long Lake Road to the Bowers Farm, owned by the Bloomfield Hills School District and located about one mile north of the original land. The Farmhouse is currently being renovated with a historically accurate approach. In order to prepare the Farmhouse for education and visits, the Barton Farmhouse project will be supported by the entire community including private citizens, businesses and charitable foundations.

Craig Log Cabin restoration in full swing – or shave

As the sap begins to flow in area trees, Kevin Brennan, a craftsman working on the renovation of the historic Craig Log Cabin, explains that the best time to cut down trees for a log cabin is in the winter, when the sap has gone out of the trees. “The logs are less likely to warp, and they’re lighter.”

Brennan was passing along this bit of woodland lore as he used an aged, but well cared-for, Wilkinson draw knife or bark-shaver on a winter-cut log. It would replace one of the 150-plus year-old original logs in the log cabin that had finally succumbed to the effects of weather.
In less than a month the log cabin, one of Bloomfield Township’s oldest structures, should be looking more presentable. It was moved last fall from its original location on Lone Pine Road to a new home on the Bowers Farm. Along with a few replacement logs it will also have a “new” roof of reclaimed hand-hewn cedar shakes. Still more restoration work will be done as additional funds are raised.

The cabin and the Barton Farmhouse are projects of Preservation Bloomfield, a joint effort of Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Hills Schools and the Bloomfield Historical Society to preserve some of the area’s past to inform its future.

Barton Farmhouse gets dressed for the holidays

The "old girl" gets settled in her new home at the Bowers Farm. The new foundation, using many of the stones from the original Barton site, nearly completes Phase One of the Barton Farmhouse.

Phase Two: Restoration involves adapting the house to its new roles as educator and community center. Funds for Phase Two: Restoration are being sought from foundations and other grant sources as well as from the local community -- both public and private sources.

Businesses interested in participating either by providing services or developing in-kind marketing partnerships are invited to contact Preservation Bloomfield via e-mail to info@preservationbloomfield.org.

THANK YOU!

It's THERE!
The Barton Farmhouse has come back to a Farm. Both sections made it successfully and are awaiting a more permanent foundation.

Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed to the enormous success of Part One from all of us at Preservation Bloomfield and the Save the Barton Farmhouse Committee.

Now comes the fun part. We need to put everything together again so that it becomes a living symbol of what a community can do to preserve its heritage and build for its future.

If you haven't contributed yet, or even if you have, think about adding some more (the Make a Donation button is over there on the left).

Come drive by what you've accomplished and see its potential.

It's a marvelous story and it's all yours!

<< Previous 1 2 Next >>

The BeeHive Ball III - Save the Barton Farmhouse!

The Barton Farmhouse - Adapting, evolving, still connected

Craig Log Cabin restoration in full swing – or shave

Barton Farmhouse gets dressed for the holidays

THANK YOU!

Save the Date for Beehive Ball III..... Friday May 14th, 2010