GLEN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - The Grand Traverse region has won top honors 10 times in the statewide barn preservation contest in northwestern Michigan, including the Brunson Barn.
Concerned about the barn, Michigan resident Eric Wink noticed some of the barn’s support beams missing and urged National Park Service Historic Architect Kim Mann in a public meeting to do what was necessary to fix it, eventually spearheading an winning entry in the Michigan Barn Preservation Network Barn of the Year awards.
Award categories cover barns that continue to be used for agriculture, barns adapted for other uses, barns that are family-owned or the project of a nonprofit or commercial entity, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
“It was a priority-one building by their own definition,” Wink. “Priority-one buildings aren’t supposed to fall down.”
The century-old barn was one of five barns named in the 2020 Michigan Barn Preservation Network Barn of the Year awards. It had become a symbol for various farmstead revitalizations within the Port Oneida Rural Historic District.
Entries for the barn preservation contest this year are due Feb. 1.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.