Irving/Fletcher/Switzer Farm Barn
Chaffee County
The Irving/Fletcher/Switzer Farm is located within a late nineteenth century farm headquarters on a 160-acre agricultural parcel in central Chaffee County, Colorado. The barn was initially constructed ca. 1886-1888 by James C. and Margaret S. Irving on their homestead claimed 1886. The Irvings became one of the most prosperous farmers in this section of Chaffee County, raising vegetables and livestock and adding more land to his holdings. The east addition ca. 1930 illustrates the custom of adding onto an early barn to meet new needs. In this case the new space may have housed a vehicle, farm machinery, or storage space.
The barn is an excellent example of an English frame barn in central Chaffee County, displaying original rectangular form, side-gable roof, interior bays defined by posts, cupola, hayloft, an entrance on its long south side, vertical and horizontal board walls, and balloon frame construction. The use of dimensional lumber, rather than timber-frame or logs, was facilitated by the presence of a sawmill in nearby Nathrop, CO. Intact barns, particularly more vernacular examples such as the Irving barn, are becoming more rare and are recognized as a threatened resource.