• 2007 Barn of the Year Recipient •

2007 Continuing Agricultural Use
Mitchell and Gail Kozuchowski
Brockway

Honored in the category of "Continuing Agricultural Use," is the dairy barn at 8991 Jordan Road in Brockway owned by the Kozuchowski family and lovingly restored by Mitchell and Gail Kozuchowski. The barn is believed to have been built in the 1880s. Mitchell's grandparents bought the farm in the mid-1920s using the barn to house horses, hay, and a busy dairy operation with 40 to 60 cows. The barn continued to be used by the next generation until the 1980s when the last herd was sold and farming ceased.

It has long been said that an unused barn quickly dies and this was true of the Kozuchowski barn and other outbuildings.

Mitchell, who was working in New York City, began commuting to the farm to begin the restoration in 1999 after the death of his father. A pen-barn that caused the main barn to lean was removed, concrete pillars were poured, and cables were put into place to strengthen the main structure and gradually the barn was pulled back into plumb. New siding was installed along with new sliding doors and reframed windows. One of the farm's three silos was taken down. The crowning touches were five coats of paint, new lightening rods, and the rebuilding of a wood fence which had once accented the barnyard. Installation of a crushed limestone drive and landscaping followed. New life has been breathed into this heritage barn and will continue when horses take up residence there.