FIVE YEARS ago a disastrous fire took our barn.  We lost more than just a building.  We lost the heart of our working farm - our primary classroom for school children and adult visitors alike.  The barn was the center for school programs and guest tours.  It was the home to various farm animals and livestock, storage for farm supplies, equipment, livestock feed and hay, and included an active and popular ice house.

YOU can help us get our farm program back at Norlands. 

At Norlands, kids get to fetch water from the well, weed gardens, cut firewood, bake in a wood-fired cookstove, gather eggs from the chickens, carry feed to the horses, pigs and cattle, along with a host of other farm chores.  In the process, they learn a bit about such old-fashioned ideas as responsibility, self-sufficiency, and sustainability. They also learn the inspiring story of seven remarkable brothers from a Maine family, the Washburns, who were born and raised on this farm and who went on to become prominent in political, diplomatic, military and business affairs of their time.

Without a barn, there is no place to clean and muck stalls, grind corn, press apples, store ice, store hay, learn about proper animal care and use agricultural implements in an authentic setting.   The virtues and rewards of honest work; the connections between farm fields, crops, livestock, and the family dinner table; the independence and inter-dependence of family members and of neighbors in a crossroads community; the concepts of frugality, recycling, environmental stewardship and sustainability – all of these were formative elements in shaping the lives and character of the Washburns, and all are key elements of educational programs at Norlands.

Amount left to our goal

Let's RAISE THE BARN We need to raise $225,000 to complete the barn.  Our goal is to have a complete, working barn in 2014.  The entire cost of the project is $500,000.  Norlands has contracted with Maine Mountain Timber Frames of Strong, who will raise the frame by early 2014 and enclose it, creating a weather tight shell.  The remainder of the project will be conducted in phases, as funds are raised.  To have a working barn, we need to finish the roof, add windows and doors, complete the interior with flooring, stalls, and a hay mow, and complete the exterior with clapboards and painting.  The crowning moment will be when raise the cupolas.   With your help, we will reach the finish line!! THE IMPACT  “Not believing in looking back on what cannot be helped, we pressed on to see what might be done going forward." (Algernon Sidney Washburn, 1867)

More importantly, your gift helps us rebuild an educational classroom and a home for our farm animals and a place for lively barn dances and seasonal harvest activities.  It will once again be a place where school children and families can learn about farm life in the 19th century by living IN history, as they work and play and learn at the Norlands.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP

• Watch our "Raise the Barn Video"
• Make a Financial Donation now securely online via credit card or mail a check a check to: Washburn-Norlands, 290 Norlands Road, Livermore, ME 04253. Please make a note that it is for the barn campaign.
• Consider Making a Pledge to make more of an impact.  Extend payments over one year.  Contact us for details or complete and mail the Giving Card or set up automatic payments via Network for Good .
• Share the news of this important campaign with your friends, family, neighbors, business associates and other groups you are involved with.
• Join our campaign team.  Be a motivator by promoting our online campaign on your facebook page and email lists.  Help raise funds within your own circles of influence.  Contact us for brochures and giving cards.

THANK YOU!