BUCKLAND — Restoration work on the Wilder Homestead’s old English-style barn is nearing completion and the Buckland Historical Society is anticipating the project will be wrapped up by April 1.

Since 2023, crews have been hard at work restoring the circa 1798 barn on Route 112. Using the same techniques that would have been used in the 1700s, crews carefully took the structure apart, inspected each of the more than 200 pieces for rot, then put it back together with repaired and replaced planks and a new foundation. All that is left to do before the barn is complete is finishing the flooring and electrical work, meeting modern building codes by installing an exit sign, installing a staircase to the loft and hanging the barn doors.

“Most of the work is done,” said architect and project manager Jack Sobon. “It’s back right where it was with a much firmer foundation and in much better shape.”

The project has involved more than a decade of fundraising and about two years of construction work. Electricians were on site last week to hang pendant lights, one of the last few steps.

Buckland Historical Society President Michael McCusker said 65% of the timber frame needed to be replaced or repaired. The Cruckfather LLC, a Hawley-based timber frame company, salvaged as much wood as possible and treated old beams so they could continue to support the structure when the pieces were put back together. Even though the barn was given new siding, a new roof, and a new foundation and floors, there are still several original beams visible.

“We kept a lot of old pieces. For instance, a 30-foot tie beam, some people would have scrapped that whole piece, but we kept most of the original plank,” Sobon said.

McCusker added the new timber was the same type of wood that was available when the barn was built nearly 250 years ago. A local logger was enlisted to cut down some trees on the property and use oxen to drag the logs to the site, where The Cruckfather LLC’s crews then shaped them to the size needed.

“This is green building at its best,” Sobon said.

Sobon said workers prioritized staying true to the original while reconstructing the barn and used the same classic English-style barn building methods that date back to the 1200s, such as using English tying joints, where the timber is held together at the joint using a wooden peg. Additionally, the timber was mostly cut to size by hand. The Cruckfather LLC had some modern milling tools to bring the logs to the rough width they needed, then used an ax to finish the job.

“We used original techniques to prepare these pieces, so if they were hand-hewn with an ax, that’s what we did,” Sobon said. “I think they enjoyed resurrecting some of these old techniques.”

Sobon said he, The Cruckfather LLC’s crew and the Buckland Historical Society have enjoyed seeing the barn be restored using these historical methods. The barn was in poor shape when they started and they are feeling proud of what it looks like now.

“It was in pretty rough shape. There was no foundation, it needed floors, it needed a new roof,” Sobon recounted. “When we opened it up we found it was much worse than we thought.”

McCusker believes work will be complete by April 1, at which time the Historical Society will schedule a celebration.

“There will possibly be a couple of little things remaining, but we will be able to say the barn is complete by April 1,” McCusker said.

McCusker encourages anyone who is interested in learning more about the project to go to bucklandmasshistory.org, where the society has created a video going over the history of the property and the work involved in the restoration project. More information on how to donate is also available on the website.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or at mschofield@recorder.com.