Rising From The Ashes
Rebuilding Of Fairgrounds Barn Already In The Works
Posted: February 20, 2013
After a devastating fire at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds last week, the fair manager said plans to rebuild portions of the 97-year-old barn that was damaged in the blaze are in the works.
On Thursday, an early-morning fire caused irreparable damage to 30 of the barn’s 42 stalls.
Fair Manager Tom Eshelman said metal and debris will be hauled away from the scene at 300 Fairgrounds Road in Woodstock starting Friday.
“The plan is to rebuild the barn. We are going to hopefully make it better than before,” he said.
Eshelman said they will be going for the same shape and size, with new materials. The barn has stood on the site since the fair began 97 years ago.
“It was the original horse racing barn,” Eshelman said.
The one horse residing at the barn at the time of the blaze emerged unharmed. But had the fire occurred closer to the spring, Eshelman said, more horses likely would have been in the barn and might have been injured or killed. As the weather gets warmer, more horse owners use the track for training purposes, often leaving their horses in the facility overnight.
“It is very fortunate that it happened when it did as far as timing,” he said.
It’s not yet clear who will design or build the new barn. Eshelman said the cost of the project is still unknown. With luck, he hopes the new barn will be ready for the nine-day fair, which begins Aug. 23.
“We want to get it finished as soon as possible,” he said.
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com
On Thursday, an early-morning fire caused irreparable damage to 30 of the barn’s 42 stalls.
Fair Manager Tom Eshelman said metal and debris will be hauled away from the scene at 300 Fairgrounds Road in Woodstock starting Friday.
“The plan is to rebuild the barn. We are going to hopefully make it better than before,” he said.
Eshelman said they will be going for the same shape and size, with new materials. The barn has stood on the site since the fair began 97 years ago.
“It was the original horse racing barn,” Eshelman said.
The one horse residing at the barn at the time of the blaze emerged unharmed. But had the fire occurred closer to the spring, Eshelman said, more horses likely would have been in the barn and might have been injured or killed. As the weather gets warmer, more horse owners use the track for training purposes, often leaving their horses in the facility overnight.
“It is very fortunate that it happened when it did as far as timing,” he said.
It’s not yet clear who will design or build the new barn. Eshelman said the cost of the project is still unknown. With luck, he hopes the new barn will be ready for the nine-day fair, which begins Aug. 23.
“We want to get it finished as soon as possible,” he said.
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com