Shelburne Farms gets $500,000 to restore iconic Farm Barn
The Farm Barn was built in 1890 and became the agricultural hub of Shelburne Farms.
Shelburne Farms has been awarded a Save America’s Treasures grant of $500,000 to help protect and preserve the historic Farm Barn, including restoring its beautiful stone courtyard walls.
With the work made possible by this grant, Shelburne Farms’ signature barn will continue to safely welcome the public to the nonprofit’s learning campus and the many education programs that begin at the Farm Barn’s doors.
“Shelburne Farms is recognized as an outstanding historic model farm and country estate with a significant pastoral landscape graced by monumental buildings. We applaud Shelburne Farms for the tireless efforts to ensure its preservation and accessibility to the public,” said Laura Trieschmann, Vermont’s State Historic Preservation Officer.
Completed in 1890, the Farm Barn is one of the original four principal buildings on the farm and long served as its agricultural hub.
In the early 1990s the nonprofit raised the funds needed to transform the building into its education and administrative hub, including the McClure Center for School Programs, Children’s Farmyard, cheesemaking and other farm operations.
“The Farm Barn really is at the center of everything we do,” said Alec Webb, president of Shelburne Farms. “This project will ensure that this amazing building continues to support our education and visitor programs.”
Since the early 1990s the Farm Barn has been Shelburne Farms’ education and administrative hub.
The Farm Barn is a contributing structure to the 2001 designation of Shelburne Farms as a National Historic Landmark District, as were the Breeding Barn and Coach Barn, both of which also received Save America’s Treasures Grants in recent years. Work on the Farm Barn is planned to begin in spring 2025.
The Save America’s Treasures grant is from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. It is a dollar-for-dollar matching grant that requires Shelburne Farms to secure an additional $500,000 in private charitable investment.
Shelburne Farms is an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future, with the belief that transformative learning experiences sow the seeds for a thriving and more just world. Shelburne Farms seeks to create the space, spark the conversations and share the stories to inspire educators, students and learners of all ages to build a better future for everyone. Learn more or to make a donation.