Parker 13-Sided Barn is an officially registered historic barn nestled in the lovely hamlet of Jefferson

Jefferson, New York

----Jefferson is a town in Schoharie County, New York, USA. The population was 1,285 at the 2000 census.The Town of Jefferson is on the southwestern border of the county and is east of the City of Oneonta.- History :...

 in Schoharie County, New York

Schoharie County, New York

As of the census of 2000, there were 31,582 people, 11,991 households and 8,177 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 15,915 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...

. It is located on State Route 10 between Harpersfield and Stamford. The barn has a long and colorful history, built in 1896 and one of only two 13-sided barns listed in the National Register of Historic Places in this area of New York state.

The Parker Barn is a three story structure, 60 feet in diameter and was built by Mr.Richtmyer Hubbell over a century ago. The roof is double hipped which is topped by a 13-sided cupola

Cupola

In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....

. Long time resident of Schoharie County, Charles Hubbell has fond memories being Grandson to the builder, and born at the homestead which surrounds this property. The homestead also consists of a late 19th-century, three story, rectangular barn adjacent and directly connected to the 13-sided barn by a hyphen, as well as a Victorian style Farmhouse situated on 15 acres just outside the Catskill Mountain range.
Over the decades, the site had been used as a Dairy barn housing cows, a chicken barn and finally a veal operation during its farming life. The 13 sided barn was originally constructed to house cows who supplied their milk to the two creameries located in the Village of Jefferson. "The cows were kept in stalls on the first floor of the barn and horses pulled wagons of hay to the second story via a bridge which led to large doors on the east side. (No longer in use.) After the hay was unloaded, the horses would then be led forward around the inside of the barn and through to the same doors they entered. This was far less dangerous than having the horses back out through doors to maneuver the steep bridge, especially during severe winters."

The Parker Barn was named such for its owner William Parker Sr. at which time the landmark registration was filed. Over 30 years ago, Mr. Parker was raising veal and had undertaken an extensive revitalizing of the barn to bring it back to its original beauty and usefulness. This sparked the interest of the National Registry to list the building.

The barn is currently privately owned and is slowly being renovated again not only to honor past generations of families who have labored, but for generations of families to come. The goal is to eventually open the barn to the public as well as opening visitors to the history that thrives in small town America.

Special thanks to:
The Hubbell and Parker Families, Anne Gustavsson and the Jefferson Historical Society(Schoharie County, NY)
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It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

in 1984.