Sheep Barn & Bull Pen

Sheep Barn and Bull Pen. Hardman Farm Historic Site. , Sheep Barn , Constructed in the late 1800s, under the directions of James Nichols, Dr. Hardman later used the structure once located to the left of the bull pen as his sheep barn. Like the horse barn, corncribs, and other structures, the thick stone foundation was covered with stucco. The barn originally had windows on the lower east side, which were later removed and boarded over. The sheep barn fell into disrepair and was removed., Dr. Hardman raised sheep on the farm for their wool and possibly for their meat. A 1910s ledger book entry list 135 sheep. The Country Gentleman, an early farming magazine, described Hardman as an example of a successful scientific farmer, as did a 1916 New York Herald article., Bull Pen , Dr. Hardman ordered the construction of a bull pen (unpainted structure on the right) in the early 1900s after making the decision to use the property for dairying operations. With its wide gable roof, the bull pen, placed up-slope from the dairy barn, has long run on the east side with pens and gates on the south end of the interior. Unlike other structures on the property, this one appears never to have been painted, nor did it have the detailed ornamentation of the earlier outbuildings constructed during Nichols' tenure at the farm., After purchasing a herd of registered Jersey cows and at least two bulls, Dr. Hardman pursued a scientific breeding program at the farm on which he kept extensive records. His program revolved around selective breeding and proper nutrition., Included in the many ledgers saved by his family is one early farm accounting that list 52 registered cows worth $3,900, two registered bulls worth $200, and 11 registered calves worth $275. In today's economy, that would be over $75,000 in livestock., (captions) , Sheep barn (left) and bull pen 1981 , The Hardman family also owned at least one goat, seen here pulling a cart holding Lamartine Griffin Hardman Jr. , Circa 1919 photograph of Jersey bull and unidentified farm worker.