Barn Fix 2026

What This Project Is

Every year thousands of visitors meet the alpacas inside our 156+ year old barn.

It’s beautiful, historic… and in real need of a major structural repair.

In 2026, we’re replacing beams, stabilizing the frame, and restoring the barn so it can safely continue hosting families, school groups, farm events, and our herd for generations to come.

This is not a cosmetic project —

it’s a keep-the-building-standing project.

Here’s where we’re at! 6/30/2026

The day the barn doors came off!

A woman standing in front of an old red barn under a cloudy sky. She is wearing a black t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, smiling with her arms on her hips.
A person standing in front of an old red barn with an open entrance, inside the barn there are wooden beams and tools. The person is wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, looking to the side. The barn has a sign with a logo and some grass and dirt in the foreground.

Feels a little nakey!

A woman taking a selfie in front of a sign at Old Homestead Alpacas Farm. The sign reads: Heritage Barn Rehabilitation Grant Program.

Farmer Elaine, the day she completed 46 turns around the sun and just so happened to be the kick off of the barn project. Hoping to do N.S. Gholson proud. I was feeling some sorta way about having to get a grant to fund this effort, but then I remembered old man Gholson originally ‘got’ this land via the Homestead Act and it felt kinda full circle and totally acceptable.

Big shout out to my V.C.’s Tom Long & Mike Vandiver, who are both now solidly in double decades of supporting whimsy.

A red barn with a white roof and a small cupola on top, surrounded by a green grassy field and a group of people gathered in front, with a large tree and a cloudy sky in the background.
A woman with long brown hair, wearing a yellow shirt, red jacket, and a knitted hat, stands next to a red wooden building, touching the edge of the roof with her right hand. There is a bell mounted on a wooden post and a railroad track with fences and cows in the background on a cloudy day.

The last meet & greet (May 17, 2026) before construction. You can really tell the sunk the south (left) is from the north. Plus that ‘heave’ in the roof.

A woman standing outdoors next to a red wooden barn, raising her right hand. She is wearing a yellow shirt with a graphic and text, a red jacket, and a harnessed beanie hat, with a partly cloudy sky and leafless tree in the background.

Before, south roof eave, 5 foot farmer can reach it because it’s sunk

Before, north roof eave, 5 foot farmer cannot reach it