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The Decker-Starheim Farm

Rianna Starheim

William Henry Decker (1844–1931) had a choice to make. His farm was supplying milk to an ever-increasing market but was outgrowing its buildings, so he had to decide whether to downsize the herd and risk not making as much money, or build a new barn that would hold a substantial number of cattle and other animals but would also cost a great deal of money. In 1890, planning began for a new barn.

Decker planned and directed the construction of the barn himself, and hired George Harris as the master carpenter of the project. Quite a bit of land adjacent to the original property was purchased so that almost all of the material used in the barn was finished on the farm: from local lumber processed at the farm’s sawmill to door handles and hinges made in the blacksmith’s shop.

In 1900, the barn was completed, and the 365-acre farm grew increasingly self-sufficient as little by little additional buildings were added. By 1910, there was a sap house, blacksmith’s shop, ice house, steam-powered sawmill, silo, carriage shed, and brewery in addition to the massive 75-stanchion barn (most barns at the time had 35 to 40 stanchions). More and more, William Henry Decker relied on his son, Arthur, for farming and herd management while he invested himself in these related activities and local politics (he was at one point the town supervisor).

The Decker-Starheim barn has been completely renovated for the twenty-first century but retains the imprint of its nineteenth-century beginnings.

After 1915, the farm also housed a generator shed, one of the first in Schoharie County. The generator provided DC electricity to power lights, refrigeration, barn cleaners, and other devices. (In the mid-1940s, the farm converted to AC electricity and was one of the earliest members to receive power from the Delaware County Electric Cooperative). With electricity available to power electric milking machines, the Deckers increased their herd size to 85 by 1920. Besides the 85 Holsteins, each of which needed to be milked twice daily, the barn also housed 35 to 40 chickens, several horses and goats, and a number of pigs took up residence in the basement of the four-story barn.

The farm was largely self-sufficient at this point, and the few items that were not produced on the farm (such as raw iron for the blacksmith’s shop and baking flour) were bought either in the town of Gilboa or from the Montgomery Ward or Sears catalogues. The Village of Gilboa was flooded in 1926 as part of the construction of the Gilboa Reservoir, but up until that time the Deckers did most of their general shopping there.

A spring behind the house about a half mile up a hill supplied the house, ice pond, barn, and sawmill with water. The same spring was used for water until 25 years ago, when routine breakage of the supply line (originally made of lead) became too frequent (common due to ground frost and heaving) and a modern well was drilled. The spring still runs strong today, and the two springhouses still stand.

The ice pond to the north of the barn is spring-fed and provided ice in the winter. Its spillway was routed through the milk room at the rear of the barn. This continual flow of icy water indoors kept the milk cool and provided running water for the animals.

Decker’s ingenious design for the barn was developed before the advent of balers and was based on the use of loose hay. To feed the close to 100 total animals living at the farm was quite a feat, as they consumed more than 11 tons of hay each winter, all of which was stored in the barn. Hay was cut, dried, and raked in the fields, then loaded into wagons (some of which still sit in the barn today), and driven up the unique ramp that crosses the road and goes to the fourth floor of the barn. From there, the hay would be pitched down into the 10 side-storage bins that stretch all the way down to the first floor of the barn. These bins were 4 floors tall and provided 500,000 cubic feet of hay storage. Hay could be accessed from the first floor of the barn and pitched down to the basement through holes in the ceiling of the basement so there was a continuous supply of hay at a convenient spot. Moreover, the hay lining the walls of the barn was an excellent form of insulation, making the barn warm for both the animals and the farmer’s work area on the various access floors. The furnace (in this case, cows, horses, and other hoofed animals) was in the basement; the ground floor offered space with radiant heat for working on wagons and heavy equipment; the narrow second floor also could be a warm home for fowl and for the repair of light tack and equipment.

The top floor of the barn is accessed from the ramp over the road and allows for the wagons to be emptied at the top of this ingenious hay mow. The top of the side-storage bins can be seen to the left of the tractor.

 

Do not look over the edge of the floor at the top of the barn if you have a problem with heights. Here, you can see storage area for the loose hay, and at the far side is one of the chutes by which hay can be dropped from the top of the mow straight down for nearly 100 feet to the cows in the basement. To pitch the hay down, the farmer would climb onto the top of the mow. As the level dropped through use, the doors on the front face of the chutes could be opened so lifting of the hay was unnecessary.

Besides hay, corn was also raised for the animals to eat throughout the winter, and was also stored in basement silos. They fell into disrepair by the 1970s and had to be dismantled for safety reasons. Hops for making beer were also raised up on a hill, and beer was brewed yearly in the brewery.

From the farm, milk could be transported to the South Gilboa railroad station by either horse-drawn wagon or sled in an hour’s time, give or take, due to weather. If the railroad had not existed, the closest creamery would have been hours away. The Deckers shipped out milk 2 to 3 times a week on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad line, one of 26 railroad lines running through Schoharie, Delaware, and Ulster counties. The milk traveled 3 stops to Roxbury, where it was pasteurized at the creamery and sent to New York City.

The house had to be rebuilt after it burned down in 1918. The new structure is a very large two-family house and matches the size of the barn. William Henry Decker lived on the side facing Blenheim Hill, while the south side of the house was for his son Arthur’s family (his daughter, Zennah Decker Wells, lived across the street as mistress of the Wells farm).

William Henry was always the titular head of the family, but farming operations were left to Arthur. In 1933, however, Arthur moved to Cobleskill with his youngest two children (Mary Helen and Frank), and farm operations were passed on to Arthur’s two older sons, George and Lester. After William Henry’s death, Lester and his wife moved into the north portion of the house, and George and Lester ran the farm together until Lester’s death in 1967.

In 1970, the 365-acre farm was sold to Olaf Starheim, and it was run as a beef farm for 10 years. From 1980 until 2004, the barn stood empty. In 2002, Olaf sold the farm to his son Gregory, who is the current owner. After this sale, the barn underwent massive renovation, is now in good condition, and is once again being used as a home for cows and other animals more than 200 years after the first cows grazed these fields.

Rianna Starheim is a Jefferson Central School sophomore. She first saw the farm visiting her grandfather, and moved here when her father purchased the farm.

High resolution art for this article.
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