Avon Historical Society Replaces Horse Guard Barn Roof

The Avon Historical Society announced that the four-year process to replace the Horse Guard barn roof has been completed.

The barn, built circa 1880 came to the attention of the soceity in 2010.

More from the society:

The Horse Guards Barn came to the attention of the Avon Historical Society early in 2010 when the

group was approached by the State of Connecticut created an adaptive reuse for the c. 1880 New England

Gable Entry Bank Barn built according to the “square” rule using circular sawn lumber. In the late 19th century

a private family occupied the land and barn. Later owners sold the whole property to the State of Connecticut

in 1954 for use by the First Co. Governor’s Horse Guards. This particular barn was used for their horses until

the State built a modern facility several years ago. (A lower level barn attached to the back was added in the

1954 which came down in March 2015 after snow load on the roof was too much for the structure to hold.)

In January 2011 the Avon Historical Society signed an amendment to a lease agreement of the c. 1810

Derrin House (249 West Avon Road) from the State of Connecticut Department of the Military to include the

Horse Guards Barn (232 West Avon Road), located on the property of the First Co. Governor’s Horse Guards.

Since taking on the Barn, countless hours of volunteer labor and financial support has come from the

community. Leading the effort to save the barn since 2011 has been Society Board of Trustee members

Elisabeth Neff, Leonard Tolisano and Peter Wright.

Over the past four years financial donations have been received by many local residents and private

citizens from all over the state. In particular the Society thanks the following organizations for very generous

monetary contributions: The Margaret Corie Darby Foundation; William Yandow Charitable Trust; Millers

Foods and the hundreds of ticket holders of many years of the Society’s Cow Chip Raffle Fundraisers.

Congressional and state delegation support over the past four years was instrumental in the Society

winning two barn grants by the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Those funds were necessary in

securing matching funds from the community which made all this work possible.

In addition, the Society thanks the following local corporations for their contributions of labor,

discounted material and/or equipment and time: Sanford & Hawley; Maher Paint & Wallpaper; Cosi’s; Paine’s

Inc.; Walker Crane and Rigging Corporation; Cyr Construction; Royal Construction Company; Wiley Swain

General Carpentry LLC; and the AIC Program of the State of Connecticut.

The Society recognizes the Town of Avon Public Works Department for assisting with much of the

heavy lifting work on the premise over the past several years. And thanks also to Alex Sauerbrunn, Michael Go

and Deb Key Imagery for donating aerial, still and video photography of the roofing process for future

marketing purposes. And thanks to Bob Stefanski who donated over 1,000 hours early in the project to assist

in creating a temporary south wall to hold up the roof while the funds were raised for reconstruction.

The next phase of the project is to replace the back wall that was damaged when the 1954 annex came

down last month. In addition, replacement of the south wall needs to be completed now that the roof has the

structure covered and dry. Labor and materials need to be purchased and donations are gratefully accepted.

Donations may be made to: Avon Historical Society, P.O. Box 448, Avon, CT 06001. Please note: Horse

Guards Barn” in the memo line of your check. Your contribution is tax deductible and a letter of thanks will be

sent to all donors.

Image via Deb Key Imagery