Penhale Carriage Two-Cow Barn

 

Late last fall, Bayfield held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the latest addition to its heritage buildings with the launch of the Penhale Carriage Two Cow Barn. If that sounds like a bit of a mouthful, rest assured that the reason behind the structure is just as interesting as the unusual moniker.

 

The display has been created to honour Tom Penhale and his team of local craftsmen who were renowned for their hand-crafted horse-drawn wagons and carriages from the 1970s to the 1990s. The world-class carriages have been featured in the Tournament of Roses parade and at Walt Disney World.

 

The Bayfield Historical Society and the Bayfield Lions joined forces to create a permanent home for a beautiful example of the craftsmanship in the form of an original landau carriage.

 

The two-cow barn represents a part of Bayfield’s past, from a time when almost everyone in the village owned a horse, a cow, some chickens and perhaps a pig or a sheep, and housed them in a small barn or shed on their property. Several examples of these structures still exist today behind some of the older homes in the village.

 

After a successful fundraising campaign to buy the carriage, local architects and contractors helped the community groups realize their vision of the barn to house it.

 

The barn is located on Main Street, just behind the Bayfield Historical Society Archives and Heritage Centre, adding to the heritage district that the downtown has become known for.

 

While the barn is well-designed with character, it is closed to the public and storyboards will be used to tell the story of Penhale’s Bayfield Wagon and Carriage Works, and the works of art that it created. www.bayfieldhistorical.ca 20 Main St, Bayfield