Test Farm Road

Yesterday was beautiful- bright and sunny, warm- it was supposed to get all stormy, but that was delayed until now and I ended up playing all day instead of working.  Not by intention, exactly, but I decided to go to the Dollar Store to get some things for the NYC trip.  Nothing much, just the stuff I always forget- toothpaste, bandaids, cold meds, you know, small toiletries.  Then- because the dollar store parking lot was crowded and I parked on the side- I drove around back for an easier escape.  I ran right into distraction #1.

I love abandoned places~ and there was a small abandoned building *right there* in a field.  It looked like a tractor shed, but in front was a blue metal folding chair and a toilet- I decided to take a photo.  Turned out that the building was a homemade house, unoccupied.  Mostly just fallen boards, but some odd things left behind- pictures on the wall, an empty desk, a hardhat, welding mask, two Singer sewing machines in table cases- one of which was an old pedal machine with the lovely scrollwork iron legs on the case- rusted into oblivion, but one day quite a prize.  Horseshoes fixed to the wall for clothing hooks.  Tapestry dining room chairs broken and rotted, but quite elegant still. Strange combination of things for a house in a field.

Then I went to the Mexican bakery (which is becoming more of a bakery/botanica- hooray!) for some Flordia water since I was all smell obsessed yesterday.  That accomplished, I decided to drive out to the daffodil tree and pick some wild ones for Turrello...and I took a different way.  I still ended up on Railroad Street, but for the first time I noticed that there was *something* behind the wood line where Test Farm road connects. I never explored that road because of the name- while interesting sounding, I knew (correctly it turns out) that it lead to one of the Murphy Factory Farm sites.  These are feed/ hog farms and the testfarms tend to lean towards genetically engineered crops/critters, sounds interesting, but nothing to see but metal barns and fields with numbers.  There are usually hidden by woods/land and this was no exception.   To explain a bit about the terrain, railroad street follows the line of the railway- which now stops in Wallace.  There is still the elevated track bed and bridges, the depots in Willard and Burgaw, but the railroad itself is long gone.  Because it belongs to the state, it has grown up mostly in trees that block everything when in leaf.  Today though was exceptionally clear, I was looking from a different angle and I saw......the barn.

The barn is *not* a typical Southern barn.  In fact, I have *never* seen this type of barn down here- yet there it was in all of its abandoned glory.  It reminded me of the great red barns of Pennsylvania, and it was still a bit reddish....and- all those silos- I had to explore.  Dutch Gambrel barns are built to maximize storage, facilitate snow/water shedding, and provide for extended sheltering/working with livestock.  They are expensive to build, and locally rather unnecessary- most barns are build in the Tobacco steep pitch style.  There are Gambrels in the mountains, but they have a lower roof line and are built of wood- and usually have adjoining tobacco slopes on the side.  This was irresistible- I parked Capone, grabbed my camera and cell phone and started through the fields.  (If you are worrying, stop.  I explore safely- not in sketchy areas, not when it doesn't look stable or safe, never without my phone and camera, and I leave no trace.  I'm careful and have been doing this for years and years now- so- no worries!)

The fields around the barn are used- they are low cut and full of early spring growth of mushrooms, wild chives, purple eyebright, dandelions and shamrocks.  Woods in front of the barn I am guessing at one time held a house that is now long gone- but there is the remains of a drive, and pivet has grown up everywhere.  I couldn't spot a chimney, so I may be wrong.  The barn itself is a beauty- again, atypical for our region because it is not made of wood, but brick, cement and stone.  (Stone! We don't have stone!)  The roof is not only a true Gambrel, but has ornate shingles- diamond shaped, but curved and with points- I haven't been able to find out what they are called yet, but they are *very* decorative for a barn. The second story had windows, and the top gables with cupola vents.  Five silos are around one side, two on the other, and there is another barn behind this one- a bit smaller and with only three silos.  I'm guessing from the foundation that this was also once a grambrel, but the roof was gone.  Both barns were used for dairy cattle- they still have the milking framework, water/food stations and can lanes.  Small side rooms have access to silos, and areas I suppose used for equipment. The barn with the missing roof still has moldering hay bales (no, I didn't go in.  Sneezing is not my favorite sport)- but the big barn is intact.  The roof has some holes, but the floor is cement and sound, and oddly enough, the floor to the second story is also cement (how did they do that?)- cement stairs lead up and the roof arches over head- huge, lovely beams.  The silos are empty, there are still a few things stored in the barn long ago and forgotten- an ancient bike covered in dust and cobwebs, a rotting horse blanket, tack that is nothing but the rusted metal rings and buckles.  A plastic target buck (with real antlers tied on) that is covered in moss.  Beautiful, strange.

My guess is that this is what remains of a huge dairy farm.  This is supported by the dairy barns, silos, proximity to the train tracks- fresh milk could be sent rapidly to Wilmington via train.  The dairy was obviously very successful at one time- I wonder what happened, and how long ago they were abandoned.  Why they weren't either preserved or torn down- though I am very glad that they still stand. I will do some research- I like to know the stories.  Maybe Charles's dad will know- he is a local history kinda guy, but more in the Penderlea area than here.  I should like to go back there and paint it, photograph it some more, someday, someday.