TOPSFIELD — What is almost certainly downtown Topsfield's last outhouse isn't much to look at, but it is an irreplaceable part of the town's history.
That leaves several groups of people breathing sighs of relief as the outhouse — and the 170-year-old barn that encloses it — start getting dismantled today for future reassembly in Ipswich.
"It's a piece of history that ought to be saved if it can be saved," said the barn's future owner, Bryan Townsend, yesterday.
The barn behind 35 Main St. had been slated for destruction because few people were interested in taking over a dilapidated barn. The present owner, Jim DiBlasi, said he talked with several dozen people in the last month about the barn before a contractor put Townsend in touch with him. Until that point, contenders included a group in Texas that was going to dismantle the barn and ship the pieces to that state.
DiBlasi said yesterday that he would have liked to restore the barn — much as he restored the house in front of it — but there was no way to bring the aging building up to commercial code.
"I thought about selling it," he said. "I understood barns like this can sell for $100,000, but I wanted to help with the preservation costs, which I understand are astronomical."
DiBlasi is building a look-alike structure and a connecting building that will be used as a headquarters for his engineering consulting company. His wife, Silvana, earlier said she wished preservationists had taken an interest in the barn 30 years ago when it would have been easier to restore. Jim DiBlasi said he'd spent months looking for ways to preserve the barn and said he'd gotten opposition, rather than help, from the town.
Townsend declined to say how much he'll spend to bring the barn back into shape. The building's siding and roof won't leave Topsfield; new materials on the exterior of the building should extend its life in Ipswich, he said. He thinks he may ultimately use the barn for storage and perhaps an artist's loft on the second story, but won't be adding much electricity or utilities like heat and water.
Chris Sullivan of KCM General Contracting will work on the old barn and its replacement. A crane is expected tomorrow to help lift off the barn's ridge beam so workers can begin removing wooden pegs.
Townsend said he lives in a 1750s home on Candlewood Drive and has restored four other sets of properties. He knows the barn suffered plenty of damage from water, bugs, rats and people. Yet with a new protective outer shell, and careful work disassembling and reassembling its wooden peg construction, the old barn with the interior outhouse should find a new life.
"With a new roof on it and new siding, it should last and allow for modification for people as they see fit," he said. And how long will that last? He chuckled. "How about another 170 years?"
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