DCHS 'GARTH OBERLANDER BARN'

The Garth Oberlander Barn was erected ca. 1820 by Col. Forrest Meeker, to serve as an agricultural barn housing livestock and feed, as part of an early pioneer farming operation on the banks of the Olentangy River. Col. Meeker left Vermont in 1797, tried settling in Pennsylvania, Southern Ohio, and Kentucky before buying 624 partially cleared acres along the Olentangy, including a wooden grist mill on the river, from John Beard in 1811. Along with considerable interference from military activities related to the War of 1812, and profits from supplying the American army with provisions from the day and night operations of his mill, Col. Meeker built a fine brick home. Construction of the large, stone-end barn was next, and farming and milling operations grew along with the settlement of the Stratford and Delaware areas. There are historical accounts of the barn assuming related functions to the milling operation, and in 1829, Meeker added facilities for carding and fulling.
In 1838, the mill was sold to Judge Hosea Williams and Caleb Howard, who established a paper mill on the river. Then, in 1845, Meeker sold the entire 624 acre farm to George Bieber. Bieber died in 1855, and the property went through several splits and changes in ownership among his heirs and others until it was acquired by the A. C. Miller Co. (which later became Union Fork and Hoe, Inc.) in 1920. Records show that the homestead was operated as a farm by tenants until Garth Oberlander bought the farm in 1941, farmed it for several years, and began his antique business in the 1950s. Tom and Carolyn Porter, mentored by Oberlander, took over and expanded the antique auction business in the 1970s. When the Porters retired, the auction business continued under the ownership of Jeff and Amelia Jeffers, and remains a nationally known antique auction house to this day.
The stone-end bank barn was built two stories tall and the main portion measures 84' by 36'. It is a fine example of a Sweitzer Forebay barn, a type traditionally associated with the middle Atlantic area of early America, specifically Pennsylvania. The foundation and stone end walls were laid of squared and coursed limestone rubble from the plentiful deposits of limestone at and near the surface in the immediate area and visible at the banks of the nearby river. The massive timber structural elements, many of which can easily be seen from inside the barn, are the hand-hewn products of the first-growth surrounding forest, which was being cleared at a rapid pace at that time. The roof, now covered with standing seam metal from the late nineteenth century, was originally of wood shingles.
The original main portion of the barn, like the house, is in a remarkable state of preservation, and, additionally, has been fitted with the modern requirements for an auction house, namely, heat, air conditioning, electric lights, restrooms and a kitchen. It will make an excellent historical education facility for DCHS programs, and a special events rental venue for producing sustaining income for the society.
The Garth Oberlander Barn, along with the Meeker House, has been rented to Garth's Auctions for 2011 and 2012 for use as their antique auction facility.

2-14-2012 Roger Koch