As the years go by, evidence of the past inevitably dwindles as historic buildings and landmarks succumb to the rigors of time.
But in some instances, private individuals, groups, and even government agencies step in before another piece of history goes by the wayside. Such is the case currently in Texas County, as the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Division is making a move to preserve a historic property located off of Highway AF in northern Texas County. Known to many local residents as the Kofal Place, (since its last private owner was William Kofal, who had it from the late 1960s until 1980), the Forest Service acquired the property in 1980, and the old farm and its many unique structures became part of the Mark Twain National Forest. Now called the Piney River Heritage Farm, the site was originally settled in the mid-1800s, and was owned by five private parties prior to acquisition by the Forest Service.
MTNF officials and numerous volunteers spent last week working at the site, clearing vegetation and debris, stabilizing its old barns and other buildings to prevent them from eventually collapsing, and doing whatever else needed to be done to preserve the site and ready it for regular public visitation.
“This is one of those things a lot of people don’t know about the national forest,” MTNF District Ranger Kimberly Bittle said. “But this is something pretty special that we’re very lucky to have.”
Based in Rolla, Heritage Program Manager Kerri Hicks oversees the protection of archaeological resources on MTNF land, and supervised last week’s efforts.
“We follow regulations set by the National Historic Preservation Act,” Hicks said, “and try to do the least possible damage to our cultural resources – which are of course non-renewable. Unlike natural resources, they don’t come back once they’re destroyed.
“That’s kind of the compliance side of what we do. The other side – which this week is all about – is kind of heritage for heritage’s sake work.”
The Piney River project falls under the umbrella of a volunteer program called Passport in Time, or PIT.
“That’s when we recruit volunteers to help us out on archaeological sites,” Hicks said, “to help preserve them and hopefully share them with the public, and let people know what we actually have on the forest. It’s all public land and is basically everyone’s resources.”
The main structure at the Piney River site is a barn made largely of huge pine logs. It’s recognized as the largest remaining log barn in the area, and one of the biggest in the state.
“One of the historic barn experts who is here working said he’s pretty sure it’s the biggest one left in the state,” Hicks said.
The experts Hicks referred to represent the Missouri Barn Alliance and Rural Network, a non-profit organization started in 2010 by people concerned with preserving Missouri’s historic farm structures. The group, referred to as MoBarn, has partnered with the MTNF to provide upkeep on the Piney River site.
“They hope to eventually find a purpose for it and maybe have activities going on there, like a working farmstead,” Bittle said. “But that’s down the road.”
MoBarn president Bill Hart said that Missouri ranks second in the nation with about 35,000 remaining historic barns (only Texas has more).
“We’re a group that appreciates historic farms and farmsteads and their importance and significance to our culture,” Hart said. “We believe that if we have a lot, we have a lot to lose. We figure that we could lose about 80-percent of them in the next 50 years, and our group wants to encourage their preservation and if possible, foster their reuse.”
Instrumental in getting the project rolling was Texas County resident Wilson Elliott, who in partnership with MoBarn has provided material and time, and even lumber milled at his own saw mill facility.
“He was the instigator of this project,” Hicks said. “He approached the National Forest, and said ‘I have a passion for this property and I don’t want these buildings to go away. I’d like to have time to stabilize them, and then hopefully figure out an adaptive reuse for the property.’
“As he puts it, he doesn’t hunt and doesn’t fish, so when he has time on his hands he comes here and works.”
“I just didn’t want to see it all torn down,” Elliott said.
Hicks said Elliott has been enlightened to what it’s like to team up wit the U.S. government.
“He has been so patient,” she said. “He’s working with the federal government, and all we are is bureaucracy. He’s putting up with it, and I haven’t driven him off yet. It has been really fun for me to work with him.”
“I’ve sure learned how the government works,” Elliott said.
Through a cost-share agreement with the MTNF, MoBarn and Elliott have agreed to take on the task of maintenance of the Piney River site for a period of five years, after which the viability of the situation will be re-evaluated.
“That’s great because the Forest Service doesn’t have enough funding in its facilities budget to maintain properties that don’t have a function for the forest,” Hicks said. “We have to be creative and find external sources.”
Another agency involved in the Heritage Farm project is the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Office (of which Hart is an employee).
“There’s no way for one entity to do something like this,” Hicks said.
The public is encouraged to visit the Piney River Heritage Farm, free of charge.
“Someone at some point might step forward with a business proposal that would help create some income to maintain the property,” Hicks said, “but nobody has flushed anything like that out yet.”
A locked gate protects the property, but people can easily walk around it and take the short walk to the site. For more information, call the MTNF office in Houston at 417-967-4194.
Mark Twain National Forest:
Houston office phone number – 417-967-4194
Web address – http://www.fs.usda.gov/mtnf
Missouri Barn Alliance and Rural Network web address: http://www.missouribarn.org/
This is one of those things a lot of people don’t know about the national forest, but it’s something pretty special that we’re very lucky to have.”
Piney River Heritage Farm succession of ownership and description