Octagon Barn

Local craftsman George and John Munro were hired in 1923 to begin construction of the barn. Previously they had been hired by Mr. Purdy in 1919 to build the impressive 15-room house. The Munro brothers were the only builders in Gagetown at the time, but they were very good. The Munro’s consulted with Russell Jaggers, Principal and mathematics teacher at Gagetown High School at the time, to help with the mathematical calculations necessary to construct an octagonal building.

George Munro continued to build barns in the area. Unfortunately lost his life in 1940 when he fell from a barn roof during construction. John Munro moved to Albion, Michigan where he continued building homes. The most outstanding is Bellemont Manor, currently owned by Albion College and used as its Continuing Education Center. It was originally built for George Dean, President of Union Steel Products.

The barn was modeled after one Mr. Purdy had reportedly seen while traveling in Iowa. He admired it so much that he spared no expense in building one of his own. It has 8 sides each measuring 42 ft 6 in. long and 24 ft. high. It has a poured cement foundation 4 ft. high that supports a 20 ft. high timber framed wall. The framing is sheathed with 1 x 12 shiplap siding and encircling the entire building are thirty 10 x12 6-lite windows. To the tip of the weathervane the barn is 70 ft. tall and covers approximately 3/16 of an acre.

The roof has three different levels, each with a 5/12 pitch. The lower level and largest area of the roof runs 34 ft to the first vertical wall, a ‘turret-like’ structure rising 8ft -8in. to the second roof level. From the center of each of these walls projects a dormer 8 ft. wide and 5 ft., 6in. high running 15 ft. back down the first roof level. There is a 9x12 9-lite window in the face of each dormer and on the second level wall on each side of the dormer. The second roof level runs 16 ft. to the next vertical wall, an octagon cupola that rises 6 ft. 8 in. to the last roof area. Each side of the cupola measures 6 ft. 2 in. wide by 6 ft. 8in. high and has a 9x12 9-lite window. The third roof level runs 8 ft. The apex of the cupola supports a large steel ventilator. Evidence of a lightning rod system still exists which was added several years after the barn was constructed. There are 32 windows in the upper level with 288 individual windowpanes in the barn roof, which seems to be positioned to minimize the amount of direct sunlight shining on the stored hay.

The ground floor of the barn measures 8,600 square feet and the loft area 5,700 square feet for a combined total of 14,300 square feet. The distance between opposite walls is 102 feet 6 inches. In the center, on the ground level, there is a 44 ft. octagonal arena, which had a dirt floor but in 2001 was resurfaced with concrete. Originally on the north side of this arena there was a wood stave silo, which was used for storage of grain for feeder cattle. It is no longer there, having fallen into such a state of disrepair that a later owner removed it. There was also a set of scales on the south side that were used to weigh cattle before taking them to the stockyard in Gagetown. Between the arena and the outside wall of the barn are stables, tack room and grain storage areas. This area has cement floors and its own ceiling, which is the floor of the 29 ft. mow/loft that follows the circumference of the barn with the exception of the west, and east ends. These ends were left open to allow access to the interior through 14x14 ft. doors. A cool breeze always seems to blow freely when these large doors are open. Looking above the hayloft you can see the remains of a circular track and hay car, used to move loose hay from wagons below and distribute it around the loft area. Also there are airshafts that were part of a sophisticated ventilation system designed to circulate fresh air around and through the building at all times. The light filtering down through the dormers and cupola lend a cathedral aura to the interior.

House

Mr. Purdy was a wise man and the extravagant 15-room house with 8 bedrooms, described as a ‘Craftsman” style bungalow, popular during the early 1920’s, was built first. The first floor has 6 rooms. They are a large parlor or the west living room with a natural stone fireplace, the sitting room where the family spent most of their time, a formal dining room, kitchen and the Purdy bedroom with its own attached bathroom. The upstairs has 7 bedrooms. There is a very large front bedroom with an attached bathroom, three small bedrooms with closets on the south side of the house and 3 very small rooms on the north side of the house. A complete bathroom is located in the back of the house on the north side. There are transoms or small windows over the doors on both levels that can be opened or closed to allow for cross ventilation. There is a full-unfinished attic and full basement with five rooms. There are porches on all sides of the house except the south side. The covered front or west porch is very large and the family had frequent dances on this porch. The north porch is special as it is a porte-cochere, (a covered porch over a driveway at the entranceway to the home). This home has some special features not found in your typical farmhouse. Masons from Bad Axe formed a natural stone fireplace and brick pillars on the porte-cochere and front porch. A large built-in icebox in the kitchen is still in place. The Purdy’s moved into their new home on Richie Road on May 19, 1922.

Powerhouse

Although we do not have an exact date on the construction of the Powerhouse it is assumed it was about the same time as the house and garage.

We do know that this was a time when, although electric lights glowed in every major city across the country, electrical power to rural areas was non-existent.

There is much speculation as to just what James Purdy had in mind when building the Powerhouse. In 1895 he began purchasing land east of Richie Road and in 1907 he purchased a tract of land, which included 43 acres of Mud Lake enriched with peat, which leads to the question of why he would purchase marshland that was not farmable? Our best answer is that he had another goal besides farming in mind. From Cora Purdy’s diary we found an insert on September 19, 1918 that Mr. Purdy traveled to Canada to visit a peat fired power plant. With this excerpt from the diary, knowing the government was promoting rural electrification and taking into account that he was purchasing all this wetland that would provide a huge supply of peat, we’re led to believe that Purdy was already thinking about bringing power to the area. By 1919 main electric lines were started into the area from Marysville and the State had halted the draining of Mud Lake. For these reasons it appears that James decided to build the Powerhouse for the farm only.

The Powerhouse is a 12 ft. by 20 ft. building of ornate double brick construction with the interior walls and ceiling lath and plaster. A cistern located at the west end of the building held rainwater collected from the roof of the powerhouse. The water was used for the steam boiler that powered the generator. Purdy had a plan, whereby he would harvest the peat from the lowlands, dry it into brick size cakes and burn it in the steam boiler to power the generator to produce electricity. Unable to get the fire hot enough, he was forced to abandon this plan for a peat fired power plant. This unique plan and building design, however was a testimony to James Purdy’s ingenious foresight. Having failed with his peat fired steam generator, Mr. Purdy converted to a 32-volt DC Delco light system and was self-reliant providing electricity for his personal needs.

Records obtained from Detroit Edison indicate that power came north along the east side of Richie Road in 1937. It was on January 12, 1938 that James Purdy signed the paperwork to have a pole set at his address, which would bring power to his farmstead.

By 2007 the poor condition of the footings and floor made it impossible to restore. After detailed study it was decided to reconstruct the Powerhouse bringing it back to the original condition. A 32-volt DC Delco light system and steam generator is operational along with other artifacts of the time.

One Room Country School

Early in 2005 it was learned that the Mast School, a “one room country school”, located in Sebewaing might be available. It was donated and the committee immediately went to work to raise funds to have it moved onto the site. A $10,000 challenge grant was offered and with donations from numerous sources, including educators, the grant was matched. It was moved to the Octagon Barn site in July 2005 and with donations of one-room schoolhouse memorabilia it was completely furnished. In fact, so much has been given, that it was necessary in 2008 to add another building to house this material. A 12ft. x 20 ft. temporary structure sits beside the Schoolhouse as a One Room Country School Museum of the Thumb and to date close to $25,000 has been raised to put up a permanent building for this purpose.

Munro Building

As items continued to be donated for the “Museum Goal” it became apparent that more buildings to house and display the variety of old machinery and tools was necessary. So plans were developed for a multipurpose building that would display equipment and provide space for activities during organized events on the grounds.

In the fall of 2005 the bid was let and construction of a 72 x 100 ft building commenced. Even though it was a pole type building, the design with false fronts on the gable ends and dormers on the roof made it look like an older, early 1900’s structure.

The building was designed with multiple uses in mind. During the Fall Family Days event it is used to serve meals. The center area is the dining area and the east side is for food preparation. The building was named after the Munro brothers who built the barn and home for James and Cora Purdy.

Covered Bridge

The covered walking bridge is intended to allow visitors access to buildings that will be located on both sides of the ditch. It was patterned after an early design, the covered bridge measures 8 feet wide and 24 feet long. It has a red cedar shingle roof and the original shiplap siding that was removed from the Octagon Barn when it was restored. Plans are now underway for the construction of a second covered bridge.

Saw Mill Building

The Saw Mill Building was built in the winter of 2007-2008. It is a 48 ft. x100 ft. structure and designed to house a Russell & Co. circular sawmill made in Massillon, OH. in the early 1900’s; a four head planer made by Witherby Rug & Richardson of Worcester, Mass.; a flat belt driven swing saw and other related equipment. They are used to demonstrate how older machinery worked and how many people it took to operate them.

In the spring of 2009 two additions were added to the Saw Mill. The west addition is 13 ft. x 100 ft. and houses memorabilia from early logging in Michigan along with tools and machinery used in early woodworking. We are also including pictures and information about family owned small town lumberyards of the Thumb Area.

The second addition on the east side is 24 ft. x 24 ft. and houses the diesel engine that is used to drive the Saw Mill when steam engines or tractors are not available.

Grain Elevator

In 2007, an 18 ft. x 24 ft. building with an 8/12 roof pitch was moved to the site as the beginnings of a grain elevator. In the fall of 2009 we built a two-story addition, which measures 16 ft. x 24 ft. We covered it with 1 ¼ in. corrugated galvanize steel to make it period appropriate. Once the building was complete we put down an oak tongue and groove floor, built an office area and added some machinery. The goal is to have a loading dock on two sides of the building and line shafts in place to run the machinery to provide demonstrations typical of early small town elevators.

Sugar Shack

In the fall of 2009 our volunteer crew put in the foundation for this 18 ft. x 24 ft. building. During the winter they built the sidewall framing, cut the roof rafters and sized the boards for the siding and roof sheathing. All this lumber was cut during previous Fall Family Days demonstrations at the Saw Mill on site from white pine logs that were donated to the “Friends”.

Blacksmith Shop on the Way

The first foundation hole being dug for the Blacksmith Shop during the fall of 2010 by a few volunteers of the Boys Day Out group. The group often meets on Mondays. Plans are for the structure to be completed before mid-summer of 2011.

If there are blacksmiths who would like to volunteer as demonstrators during School Tours and/or Fall Family Days, you may send a message to the Fall Family Days co-chair by clicking CONTACT of this website and sending an email. Persons wishing to participate in Boys Day Out may also contact the Fall Family Days co-chair.