Stone Barn Castle Farm Museum Address: 737 Stone Barn Road  City: Cleveland State: NY Postal: 13042 Phone: (315) 675-3602 Fax: Longitude: -75.8494 Latitude: 43.2483 Stone Barn Castle Farm Museum   This magnificent cobblestone structure was built by Charles Knight, a hydraulic engineer, who lived in Rome, NY, at the turn of the century. A well respected member of the business community, he constructed damns in many areas, often using stone as his building material. Work on the Stone Barn, which was built to resemble a European castle, was begun in 1896. The date on the concrete floor of the last section completed suggests it took ten years to raise the mighty walls, crowned by towering chimneys, to their full height. A visiting stone mason recently pointed out the styles of at least six master masons. Horses brought stones from neighboring farms and hauled on the ropes which, rising over pulleys, lifted the building materials to their destined heights. While the Stone Barn was taking shape, Charles Knight bought 500 acres of the surrounding land, which at that time was cleared and dotted with small farms. Anthony Hoover, the owner of a farm to the north of the Stone Barn, was hired by Charles Knight to be farm manager and he and his family moved into the residential wing at the west end of the structure. The interior walls of Charles Knight's farm were whitewashed and the herdsman wore white overalls and white gloves to do the hand milking. The milk, in churns, was drawn on wagons to the railroad and taken by train to New York City. Overhead rails carried the manure out to the waiting spreaders and an underground tunnel drew the stale air through fireplaces into the chimneys. Charles Knight's farm was renowned for being ahead of its time. After Charles Knight sold the Stone Barn, it was farmed on a smaller scale until the 1940s. During the Second World War, after the building had been abandoned, it caught fire. Lacking water the firemen watched helplessly. The flames could be seen on the south shore of Oneida Lake. All that was left was the stone walls. The place then became a Mecca for family picnics and increasingly for rowdier gatherings. In 1970 when Dr. and Mrs. Hugel found it, the Stone Barn looked like Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Cherry trees grew out of the piles of ash from the fire. Brambles caught at the feet and clothes. The far end of the Ice House was obliterated by a green jungle. By 1971 stonemasons were at work again, repairing the walls which had survived 35 years of freezing and thawing. The North Wing roof was the first to go back on, followed by the one of the silos and eventually the West Wing. The second silo roof was the last to be completed. Each winter another staircase was added to the West Wing. The Farm Museum opened in the 1970s. Visitors would come back to see which part of the building Robert and Alison Hugel were clambering over now. A guide conducted them through the increasingly ornate interior, filled with old farm machinery, crocks, furniture, and ancient kitchen utensils. Under Alison Hugel's direction special events blossomed, including an Easter Show, Horse Shows, Civil War Reenactments, a Car Show, Craft Fair and the most successful and only continuing event, a Halloween Show which still draws ten thousand visitors every year. In 2002 Robert and Alison Hugel retired, leaving the running of the Stone Barn to the next generation. William Hugel and Jennifer Petrie are presently constructing an inner courtyard open air theatre in the largest of the castle's buildings. The theatre is being designed to utilize the ancient-looking structure as a natural setting for Shakespearean and other Renaissance era plays. Information courtesy of Stone Barn Castle Farm Museum [ Schedule ] opens May 4 for the summer season although Easter egg-hunting festivities were held on two weekends. Guided tours are available from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays, through October. Groups can be accommodated by appointment at other times. [ Admissions ] $3 for adults; seniors, groups and children are $2 back to top