The Old Dairy Barn

Designed by Robert H. Robertson, the Old Dairy Barn was completed in 1891 as part of W. Seward Webb’s horse breeding operation. It first stabled brood mares, many imported from England. When the breeding enterprise folded, the barn was converted to house a herd of Jersey cows. In 1952, a growing herd of Guernsey, Holstein and Brown Swiss cows was moved to the modern pole barn. The Old Dairy Barn continued to be used for agricultural storage.

In 1994, Shelburne Farms acquired both the Old Dairy Barn and the Breeding Barn, along with a surrounding 400 acres from the Shelburne Museum. (This portion of the property had been deeded to William and Lila Webb’s eldest son in 1913 and was subsequently donated to the Museum). After the acquisition, the Old Dairy Barn received some structural stabilization, including a temporary new roof and new foundation.

The long-range plan for the building is to integrate it into Shelburne Farms education programs as a residential learning center, with meeting space and accommodations for students, educators and families to convene for in-depth programs. The adaptive re-use will embrace ecological design principles and employ lumber harvested sustainably from Shelburne Farms forests.

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