This Gorham barn, estimated at more than 170 years old, could be dismantled and rebuilt at Shaw Cherry Hill Farm. Robert Lowell / American Journal
GORHAM — A vintage barn still standing strong near the intersection of routes 25 and 237 may get a new life at Shaw Cherry Hill Farm.
The non-profit Shaw Brothers Family Foundation wants to dismantle the barn at 551 Main St. and rebuild it nearby at their 258-acre Cherry Hill Farm, where walking trails and Sebago Brewing headquarters are located.
The structure is the last of four historic barns connected through the centuries with descendants of Daniel Mosher, an early Gorham settler, and was built by one of the Moshers.
A lifelong resident in the neighborhood, Dale Rines of Walnut Crest Farm, estimated that the barn could have been built a little before 1850.
“It would be pretty special to save that barn,” Jon Shaw, president of Shaw Brothers Construction, said Tuesday.
The barn near the intersection of routes 25 and 237 in Gorham was built by a member of the Mosher family.
The barn would be taken apart “piece by piece,” he said.
Reconstructed, it would occupy a lofty position at Cherry Hill, have a cupola on the roof, and a milk room addition. In would include an office, conference room, bathrooms and tractor storage. The foundation says space could even be made available for a college agricultural program, Shaw said.
The relocation project is contingent on Planning Board approval of Walt Stinson’s proposal for a storage facility at the barn’s current site. A state Department of Environmental Protection permit to relocate the barn to Shaw Cherry Hill Farm is also needed.
Stinson, of Gorham and the founder of engineering firm Sebago Technics, would then donate the barn to the Shaw Brothers Family foundation.
Stinson has an agreement to buy the 551 Main St. property, which, according to Gorham tax records, is owned by Neil Esposito of Portland. His request for a public storage facility similar to others in the area goes to the Planning Board Sept. 14.
The barn is 42 feet by 80 feet, Stinson said, and the roof has been maintained.
“It’s a nice barn. It’s in pretty good shape,” he said.
A neighbor, Albert Erlon Mosher, 92, owner of the nearby Mosher Farm, recalled that it once belonged to Marshall Richardson.
“We cut the hay there way back,” Mosher said.
Last year, the foundation opened three miles of walking and biking trails at Shaw Cherry Hill Farm to the public and also provided a parking area.
To preserve the town’s agricultural heritage, the Shaw Brothers Family Foundation plans to have 15 to 20 beef cattle at its farm. A second barn would house the cattle and store hay, Shaw said.
The Shaw foundation has hired an architect to ensure their barns would look authentic and sitting pretty for passing motorists.
Christine Woodruff in the DEP’s Portland office said Tuesday the Shaws’ application for the two barns is “under review.”
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