The Coach Barn

During the estate’s heyday, the Coach Barn stabled riding and carriage horses for the Webbs, stored carriages, sleighs, harnesses, and saddlery, and housed groomsmen. Completed in 1902, it was the last major Shelburne Farms building designed by Robert H. Robertson, and the last major building constructed on the property. A central, brick-floored washroom was flanked by storage rooms for carriages and tack, with additional storage rooms upstairs. Box stalls and hay lofts were located in the wings. By the 1910s, the Coach Barn also housed the Webbs’ growing fleet of automobiles.

In 1947, the Webb’s carriage collection and equipment were donated to the newly-formed Shelburne Museum. Today, many of them are on display in the Museum’s Horseshoe Barn. For the next 25 years, the barn continued to be used for agricultural purposes: housing sheep, wintering heifers and hosting cattle auctions. After descendents formed the nonprofit education organization in 1972, the Coach Barn served as an education center for school trips, summer camps and educator workshops.

Today, the Coach Barn hosts a variety of special events, conferences and functions for Shelburne Farms, other nonprofit organizations and private groups. Shelburne Farms’ annual Art Exhibition & Sale is held here every September. The site enables agricultural, environmental and cultural groups and community members to convene in an inspiring setting. The revenue from these functions helps support the Farms’ environmental education programs.

Interested in Renting the Coach Barn for a Private Event?

Contact Andrea Van Hoven at 802-985-8498 or see more information here.

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