School Street Barn - Agawam, MA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The School Street Barn is located at the site of the former prison farm for the York Street Jail, Springfield, MA. It was used as a working barn for over 100 years. It once was owned and run by the by the Hampden County House of Corrections. The initial parcel of land was purchased in 1934 from Agawam. Additional farm land was purchased in 1943 and 1949. Prisoners worked the farm as they were guarded by the local sheriff. Vegetables produced on the farm were processed and stored, animals were housed and fed, and equipment was stored in the barn. This barn is the last remaining 19th-century barn in Agawam Center.

The Prison Farm closed down in the early 1970’s and the land remained unused for many years. In 1998 Hampden County government was abolished and the town of Agawam took possession of the property. It remained unused for many years.

When work began to convert the farm site to a community park - the School Street Park, the abandoned School Street Barn was left untouched and unused. It still contains the original post and beam animal stalls and a huge hayloft. The barn interior is not open to the public until pending safety issues can be remedied.

Historic barns such as these are disappearing at an alarming rate from the New England landscape because their construction often cannot handle the harsh New England winters.

Street address: School Street Agawam, MA United States 01001 County / Borough / Parish: Hampden Year listed: 2012 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Agriculture, Architecture, Law, Social History Periods of significance: 1880 - 1962 Historic function: Agriculture, Government Current function: Recreation Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.