Barn Restoration
Valley View has two historic barns that were built by the ancestors of the Laudeman family in the mid 19th century. The photo above shows the dairy barn as it existed in 2003 after several days of clearing brush away to gain access to the structure. As you can see in the photo, the barn was collapsing and almost a complete loss when we first started working to restore it. This barn is benched into a hillside so that produce from the fields could be stored at near constant temperature. It has a hay loft and grapple with rail in the upper ridge beam so that hay could be brought in from the fields and put up for the winter to fee livestock. It is constructed of hand hewn mortise and tenon timbers and has a hand laid stone foundation. The structure was definitely worth saving and after hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars, it was as shown in the photo below. Our long term plan is to use this barn for education programs and potentially as a stage on the elevated floor for outdoor concerts
Shelter
With each year that passes, more and more people and groups are coming to Valley View. Among others, the teachers at Pattison Elementary School which borders Valley View are bringing their classes outside to Valley View to learn about the natural world and history of the area. As a result we need a location where groups can meet and communicate when they come to Valley View. We have concluded an open air shelter such as the concept shown above will provide the most versatility and service to the broadest range of visitors to our property. The cost of such a shelter is anticipated to be approximately $50,000. At this time, we are looking for funding and donated materials and labor to build the shelter. If you would like to donate to this project, can help with this project, please contact us to discuss further details.
Trail & Site Maintenance
We are constantly working to improve and maintain our property for our visitors. For decades before Valley View was formed, this land was used only for tenant farming. So work was done to prepare fields and grow crops but there was no management of invasive species such as honeysuckle and wooded areas. So we have had thousands of volunteer hours invested over the past several years by individuals, scout troops, schools and community organizations to help clean up and maintain our property. A portion of our property along the East Fork regularly floods. Unfortunately the flood waters bring in tires, trash and a variety of new "artifacts." So Valley View has served as a base station for annual spring river sweep clean ups along the East Fork. Over the years, we have hauled numerous dumpsters of litter out of the East Fork and our property. And with several miles of trails to maintain, we couldn't survive without our small army of volunteers who coordinate the mowing and grooming of the trails. If you or a group you're involved in would like to get involved in these efforts, please contact us.