Templeton Farm

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Templeton Farm
3410 Center Road
East Montpelier, Vt. 05651

802-223-0169
802-461-5352
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Historic preservation grant, neighbors help give new life to old Vt. barn

08.14.2023

EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) - An old barn in East Montpelier is getting new life thanks to historic preservation funds from the state. While it’s an older building, it still plays a key role in operations at Templeton Farm in East Montpelier.

The barn was built in 1877, but the history goes back much further as one of the first farms in Central Vermont.

Bruce Chapell and his family own and operate Templeton Farm.

"We run around anywhere from 50 to 70 head of beef cattle. We have around 4,000 maple taps and it is truly truly a family operation," Chapell said.

Their main barn was built in 1877, replacing the original one from when the farm started operations in 1810.

"All of the lumber that went into this building, or a majority of it, came from Elmore," Chapell said.

But 146 years later, the barn is in need of some TLC.

With the support of a $15,000 historic preservation grant and neighbors, work in East Montpelier is underway.

Colin Blackwell is a neighbor who did a lot of work on the foundation and the barn’s cupola 80 feet in the air.

"When I started pulling this apart, I found a series of license plates used for flashing, you know odd tools," Blackwell said. "I particularly enjoy working on older barns in the neighborhood. There’s a lot of history in the buildings, so every time I get involved in a project, you learn a little and kind of envision the time these buildings were built."

The barn was previously used for dairy operations but now serves as a place for the cows to stay warm over the winter, and hosts a chute where they can easily get health checkups or loaded into trailers.

"We have freeze-proof water over here and they have all their hay, so they’re pretty darn comfortable," Chapell said.

But Chapell says the work is far from done.

"When you have a building this age, there’s a lot of things that can go wrong," he said.

Other areas of the roof still need to be repaired, as well as an area that used to host dairy production.

"We really do really use it. It’s really important to us, not only as an agricultural building but it’s a pretty important symbol of agricultural history in East Montpelier," Chapell said.

The historic preservation grant is only for $15,000 but they expect to spend closer to $40,000 to keep things operational.

If you’re interested in seeing the barn or visiting Templeton Farm, a great time would be Wednesday for one of their burger nights. You can get a beef patty and enjoy some live music.