By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Bill Constantino, the grandson of Ike and Pearl Wakeman, reflects on wonderful memories of the 1800s-era barn at Wakeman Town Farm — a historic structure that is being modernized and saved at the same time.

Constantino remembers when the barn held a cider mill, when the space was used to store the farm’s eggs and hay, and when the family’s lobster pots and fishing equipment were stored there. 

“There were 10 lobster pots for each family member there,” recalled Constantino, who fished with his family from the age of five till his was about 21.

“There are great memories in that barn,” he said.

Wakeman Town Farm, now owned by the town, serves as a community resource for a range of activities related to agriculture, education and the environment.

The farm’s barn, which has fallen into disrepair after years of use, will be repaired with new windows, new flooring and an electrical upgrade, in addition to other improvements, according to Constantino, who still lives in Westport.

The project manager for the barn rebuild is John Broadbin, deputy director of the town’s Department of Public Works. “Half the barn will be demolished and rebuilt,” Broadbin said.

“It’s in the design stage now and will go out to bid this winter with construction starting in the spring.” 

The Board of Selectwomen recently approved an agreement with architect Philip Cerrone III for architectural services to design plans for the barn’s renovation. And the Historic District Commission approved the barn project last June. The barn was built in the late-19th Century, according to a document from the Connecticut Historical Commission filed with the HDC.

Constantino believes the barn was built by his great grandfather. Over the years, the barn was used for different crops as Wakeman Farm transitioned from a dairy farm to raising poultry and finally to a vegetable farm. The entire property encompassed 43 acres originally, but some of the land was sold in the 1960s, and it is now 38 acres, said Constantino, who is the co-chair of the Wakeman Town Farm Committee.

The property now is dedicated to sustainable farming, hosts children’s educational programs and camps, as well as educational and social activities for adults, according to Christy Colasurdo, the farm’s events director. The property also has space available to be leased for weddings and other events.

This year, 1,700 children, 50 high school and college students, and more than 150 participants from non-profit agencies participated in programs and summer camps sponsored by the farm. And that’s in addition to 300 volunteers who farm the land, according to Colasurdo.

The barn remodeling project is “repurposing it for a whole new generation,” she said. “It’s dilapidated and hasn’t been repaired for a couple of decades.”

The newly renovated barn will provide a multi-purpose space, she said, divided into several different areas. The largest area will be used as an event space for programs and classes. There will also be a separate area for storing maintenance and farm equipment, and another space earmarked for a store selling Wakeman Town Farm merchandise and seasonal produce.

Plans to remodel the barn were initiated in 2019, spearheaded by Westport architect Peter Wormser, a founder of the community farm concept, according to Colasurdo.

Much of the $150,000 raised for the project was donated in honor of Wormser, who died in July 2021, she said. “He was the  original visionary.” Some money from the town’s allocation under the American Rescue Plan Act also will be used for the project.

“Our final hurdle is to raise $50,000 to complete the project,” she said in a letter to farm supporters on Giving Tuesday (Nov. 28).

The renovated structure will “allow expanded indoor educational programs for children and adults, barn suppers, potluck  dinners, live concerts, art and yoga classes, barn dances, plays, workshops and more,” the letter said.

The newly remodeled barn will be a welcome addition to the farm, Colasurdo added.

“A lot of new families have moved into the area with young children. There’s lots of interest in the farm,” she said. “Now we’re bursting at the seams.”

To donate to the barn renovation project, click here.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.