A Smoky Mountain Barn Raising!

1 / 3
2 / 3
3 / 3

It’s a proven fact: By working together, people can make “impossible” dreams come true.

When Bill Godfrey retired to his western North Carolina farm a few years ago, he brought along an antique horse-drawn surrey that he’d acquired (it was love at first sight!) during a trip to Vermont. However, his new neighbors soon warned Bill of the danger in riding a brakeless buggy around the curving, hilly back roads of the Great Smokies . . . so the relocated Californian decided to search for a way to make his surrey safer.

Before long Bill had hooked up with another buggy enthusiast, and together they designed and built a complete braking system for the carriage. That experience was rewarding enough to cement Bill’s fascination with horse-drawn vehicles . . . and his collection eventually grew to include four buggies, two sleighs, two farm wagons, a stagecoach and a covered wagon.

Now Bill knew that his vehicles would suffer if left exposed to the typically wet and stormy weather of that mountain region. For a time he housed his buggies in a neighbor’s barn, but when the owner was forced to use that shelter himself, Bill decided to indulge his hobby one step further by constructing a massive outbuilding on his own property.

Planning for a Small Barn

  • Published on Mar 1, 1982
Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368