Construction is progressing on the rehoming and restoration of a historic barn at the Swart-Wilcox House in Oneonta.
Though the project is behind the original goal of completion, which would have been in time for the city’s America 250 celebrations during Fourth of July weekend, The Friends of Swart-Wilcox has planned a full slate of activities at the house, which is the oldest standing structure in the city of Oneonta, on Friday, July 3.
Helen Rees, Friends of Swart-Wilcox president, said that to coincide with day’s activities, the Daughters of the American Revolution will dedicate a commemorative plaque in honor of Revolutionary War soldier Lawrence Swart, who built the Swart-Wilcox house in 1807.
Swart and his brother David were early settlers in the area. The property has local historical significance, but also evidence of a Revolutionary War encampment.
“He was a Revolutionary War soldier from Schoharie,” Rees said Thursday, May 21, “and he and his brother obviously were familiar with this place. We think possibly that he came through with the Clinton-Sullivan campaign, because they floated down the Susquehanna. They camped here, not necessarily Lawrence (Swart), but the Clinton soldiers camped on this property, and they found metal detecting. They found a lot of belts and buttons and little miscellaneous things that suggested it was a Revolutionary War encampment at one point.”
The property’s original barn, which dated to the 1790s, was an English threshing barn that stood until 1969, when the city fire department burned it down in a training exercise, likely because it had become an attractive nuisance to local children.
The donated barn, also an English threshing barn but from the 1860s, was donated by David and Penny Wightman and will be used for community events and storage of historical artifacts. The barn will include climate-controlled storage and accessible facilities, according to Daily Star archives.
The property on which the house stands has been owned by the city since 1972. However, the museum is a separate entity served by volunteers from The Friends of Swart-Wilcox nonprofit organization.
Rees said the donated barn has been dismantled and now sits in city storage, but due to its condition, fewer original timbers could be salvaged than hoped. The new barn will incorporate some of the old barn pieces as educational features, such as square nails and wooden pegs, while using modern reinforcements to meet current building and safety codes.
The barn’s foundation is being constructed with multiple layers, including stone, gravel and concrete. The city laid the water and electric conduits last fall, and the contractor will connect the utilities to the barn as construction progresses.
The barn dedication is postponed to the end of summer, with a backup completion date of Oct. 15.
Fundraising efforts have been successful in meeting the initial goal, but an additional 15% contingency is now needed due to increased costs for materials and labor.
The Friends of Swart-Wilcox is seeking further donations, including through a raffle of an America 250-themed basket on July 3 and encouraging early charitable distributions from supporters, including retired minimum distribution donations from individual retirement accounts. Swart-Wilcox also will participate in the Mohawk Valley Gives fundraising program in September.
More information on the house and museum can be found at https://swartwilcoxhouse.wordpress.com.