Abbreviated History of the Rockefeller Barn and Description

Abbreviated History of the Rockefeller Barn and Description
In July of 1937, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., donated three retired carriage horses to George Washington Birthplace National Monument. Superintendent Hough gladly accepted them and formulated a plan to breed Morgan stallions for other parks in the National Park System. Hough's plan required the construction of a horse bam, paddock, and fencing. However, continued concern over disturbing archeological resources in the vicinity of the Memorial House prompted Park Service staff to advocate waiting on the project. In fact, correspondence from 1937 indicated that Regional Director Roy E. Appleman wanted all utility buildings removed from the historic core. Perhaps because of Rockefeller's involvement, however, construction of the bam and its adjacent paddock occurred from 1938 to 1939.

The Rockefeller Barn (LCS No. 080336, contributing building} is a one-story wood-frame building with a U-shaped plan, constructed in 1938-1939 to stable horses. The central section, measuring 78 feet long by approximately 13 feet wide, is oriented along the same northeast-southwest axis as most of the other buildings .in the historic core and has a side-gable roof. Perpendicular wings measuring approximately 25 feet long by 14 feet wide are attached to the east and west end walls, with open passages cut laterally through each wing to the interior paddock. The building has wood-shingled roofs, weatherboard walls, and concrete-strip footings. Multiple board and- batten doors, single and paired, line the interior walls. Small six-paned casement windows on the exterior walls provide light and air to the twelve stables.

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