In November 1994, a group of Island farmers got together and did what many thought impossible: They disassembled an old barn in New Hampshire, trucked it back to the Vineyard, and put it all back together again with the help of hundreds of community volunteers.
It was all part of an effort to help preserve the agricultural roots of the community and the Ag Hall, which has become one of the most iconic buildings on the Island because of its construction and history. At the time, those involved didn’t comprehend how important the effort was.
“It’s really cool as a staff member seeing how passionately people feel about this place and the role it plays in their sense of community,” current Society President Lauren Lynch said of the historic project. “The building itself and the whole process was very emotional, and became really personal for a lot of people.”
Now, 30 years later, the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society (MVAS) will host its 30th annual “Barn Raisers Ball,” an annual celebration to commemorate the historic raising of the Ag Hall. Many of the Vineyarders who brought the project to fruition will be in attendance on Saturday to celebrate the occasion.
It all started in 1993, when the Ag Society’s trustees decided to move the Agricultural Fair from what is now known as the Grange Hall. The trustees were a volunteer board dedicated to agriculture, horticulture, and improving farming practices on Martha’s Vineyard. The annual Agricultural Fair was their largest undertaking each year, and attendance for it was vastly outgrowing the capacities of the Grange Hall (which was officially renamed in 1999).
The move was emotionally charged for Islanders. The hall had an undeniable sense of community charm.
Many voiced their concern, but local farmer Andrew Woodruff was the first to do something about it.
Now the owner of Whippoorwill Farm, Woodruff had fond memories of attending the fair on-Island, and felt called to be involved in the process of rebuilding. Then he saw what the trustees had plans to build: a large metal structure. “I couldn’t stand to see a metal building there,” Woodruff said, echoing the sentiments of many in the community.
The trustee board envisioned a structure they could hose off after the fair; in their eyes, practicality was a priority. But Woodruff didn’t agree. He decided to push for a standard he would be comfortable seeing as a local. So he called someone whose expertise could help: Rick Anderson.
“Everybody started calling me,” Anderson said. He had already made a name for himself by disassembling and rebuilding older barns.
Anderson and Woodruff’s concept for repurposing a wooden barn gained traction in the months following, and before long, many members of the community offered to help. “We felt there was a bigger calling for this project,” Woodruff said. “Momentum started gathering, and it grew organically.”
A petition made its way around the Island in support of a wooden structure, garnering more than 700 signatures.
While the trustees were deliberating, Anderson started looking for a barn. “I made calls to all my contacts and said, ‘I need the biggest barn you all have ever seen,’” he said.
When Anderson got the call about a barn in New Hampshire, he had a feeling it was the one. It was large enough, cost-effective, and the sellers were open to someone moving it from the land. It was the right fit. So a group calling themselves the “barn busters” made a trip up to investigate, and eventually start disassembling.
But it was grueling work. At one point, volunteers debated calling it quits for a couple of weeks to rest. But John Packer, a local farmer, rallied the team.
“He got up and said, ‘What’s the Spartan code? Come home with shields held high or dead upon them,’ and everyone said, ‘We’re staying,’” Anderson recounted. They finished a few days later, exhausted but satisfied, with trucks full, and made their way to the boat.
On Nov. 4th, 1994, Woodruff said, hundreds showed up for the barn raising in West Tisbury. What ensued was a day of community building with help from Islanders of all ages.
“The whole Island built this thing,” Anderson said. “It all fell into place —everybody knew what they were doing.”
The barn now hosts the Agricultural Fair, weddings, events, concerts, and more.
MVAS President Lauren Lynch and Program Manager Lucy Grinnan are spearheading the new chapter. They say that mentorships, teach-ins, and outreach events held at the barn have notably improved the conditions of local agriculture.
“Having this building inspired a lot of people to think about this organization differently,” Grinnan said. “We’re trying to keep that same spirit as we shift [into the future of MVAS].”
“It’s really a community space in a way that I think is unique, partially because people have a lot of stake in it — [they] helped build it,” Grinnan said.
Looking back, Woodroof has fond memories of the barn raising that came together. But he didn’t know how special their effort was until years later.
“We realized we were building something special, but we didn’t realize how much impact it would have on the community,” he said.
The 30th annual “Barn Raising Ball” on Nov. 2 will be held from 7-10 pm. The event is a tribute to the party that ensued the night the build was originally finished in 1994. The event will feature live music from Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish, a dessert potluck, and dancing. There is also an event geared toward the younger generation earlier in the day, from 10 am to 1 pm, where children will be given materials to create their own model of the Agricultural Hall, and “raise the barn” themselves.
Way to go, Andrew, you’re a true leader!
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