Courtesy Troy Sale Barn From bovine to divine: the Troy Sale Barn is now a great venue for events from Nutcracker ballet recitals to weddings.
Livestock, Live Bands, and Love The New Old Troy Sale Barn Celebrates 100 Years By Carolyn Straniere
“P
eople said we were crazy when we said we wanted to save the barn,” says Bill. “The wood beams were rotting, and there was still dirt and manure in the pens. But this barn has been a vital part of Troy for 100 years, and we didn’t want to see it razed.” Bill is Bill Bower, a local historian and retired game warden. He’s one of ten people on a committee dedicated to saving the Troy Sale Barn. It’s been quite the undertaking, but the Troy Sale Barn Operating Corporation has not only managed to save the barn, but completely transform it into a beautiful space for public and private use. Events of all kinds are happening here, from weddings to yoga, archery to anniversary parties. Let’s back up. Just over a century ago, twenty farmers met at the Troy Hotel to discuss erecting a livestock sale pavilion in Troy. They formed the Bradford County Livestock Sales Association and oversaw construction of an amphitheater-style building. The first sale
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was on June 4, 1922, and continued every Wednesday after that for decades, with the town benefiting economically from the influx of folks on sale day. “Wednesday was a big day for many families,” Bill explains. “It was their one day to come to town, do their errands, and meet up the other townspeople. It’s not like today where we run to town all the time. It was special back then. People would come from New York and Philadelphia by train to attend the sales.” But, over time, the barn saw fewer sales. Bill suggests Hurricane Agnes’s destruction of the railroad line in 1972, as well as the dwindling number of family farms, as possible explanations for the barn losing money. Leasing the facility to a livestock company didn’t improve the situation. February 21, 1996, was the last regular sale. The barn changed hands a few times in the years following. Sales and events were held occasionally, but by 2010 the property was
sitting vacant and unused. Structural decay was inevitable, and in 2014 talk of tearing down the sale barn circulated through town. “The Troy Historical Society wanted to put the barn on the National Registry so it wouldn’t be razed, and we had petitions to save the barn, which we presented at a town hall meeting,” Bill says. “The community really came out and supported us. They donated money to help replace and rebuild much of the building. Now there are steel beams where the rotten wood ones were.” Bill names another driving force in this community endeavor: Executive Director Nicole Harris. A Penn State graduate with a background in agriculture, Nicole spent quite a few years as the naturalist at nearby Mt. Pisgah State Park before jumping on board with the Troy Sale Barn Operating Corporation. “There are ten members and we built our policies from the ground up, with a vision See Old Troy on page 32
