Skip to content

Barns and Mills Walk

Wyskiel Hubbard barn. MDP photo.Barn and mills seen on walks lead to learning about human history, hidden mills, old tools.

Old tools on a barn wall. MDP photo.Old barns contain stories, such as these useful tools displayed on a wall. Some were used to build this ell. Others (not seen) hail from a nearby old mill. Stone walls, pathways and foundations all had practical purposes.

Cobblestones and snow at Slater Mill. Image is linked to mill story.Rock walls, stone buildings. People used materials they found close at hand. Outbuildings are usually the first to go around an old homestead, mill or farm. (Not everybody takes the time to understand why things were placed where.)

Indian Hill, there's a story there.
There’s so much hidden history, once your eyes are tuned in for the remains of almost-lost structures, they may be found in your own backyard, park, town or on a walk. Just look around. Sometimes a road’s name can be a clue, although I’m still trying to track down the origin of a “Bee Street.”

Stone fence and old bolt.Stone mileposts, boundary markers, old bottle dumps, hitching posts and gates, stone carriage steps – not as common as in years past, but they may still be found by those who have time to look.

So much is underfoot or standing in plain sight and simply passed by.

Let's Walk, Barns, Old Tools - a new book.

Barn. Moo Dog Press Magazine.Walk Horsebarn Hill, Tour Barns: Day Three

Some 84 horses, 200 Holstein and Jersey cows, 40 brood ewes, and 55 beef cattle (give or take) live at the University of Connecticut (UConn) at Storrs and visitors may tour the barns year-round. (The poultry barn is closed to the public.) There are dairy calves year-round and foals each spring.
Moo Dog Press photo.Visitors may also view the UConn dairy cows being milked at 1 p.m. at the Kellogg Dairy Center. For families who have a youngster with an interest pursuing a career in animal science, a barn tour provides a real-life look at daily operations as animals are maintained and cared for by full-time UConn staff and animal science students.

Agriculture started the learning at University of Connecticut.

An agricultural college when founded in 1881 to teach students the business of farming, the University of Connecticut now stands among the top 20 public institutions in the nation. The College of Agriculture and Natural Resource studies include veterinary science, environmental health issues, nutrition, animal production, food science, genetics.

Calves and heifers. MDP barn walk.

The richness of offerings open to the public include events year-round, riding in the summer, symposiums, greenhouses that are a living library with incredible plant collections, and more. Plus there is the dairy bar and the UConn Co-op, an independent (and wonderful) bookstore. And you never know just who you may meet along the way.
Photo by Chris Brunson
Coffee ice cream is one of our favorite flavors at the UConn Dairy Bar in Storrs. What used to be a small cubby of a gathering place opened for customers around 1954 to sell dairy products manufactured by the creamery on campus. Things have changed since then, as today the dairy bar is more like a diner-restaurant, but the ice cream remains delicious.

Spend some time inside the visitor’s center before wandering around the campus and the rolling expanse of Horsebarn Hill and open sky. Bring along an apple, pack a lunch and a bottle of water or thermos of hot coffee; take a walk, stretch your legs.

For a round up of ag-related happenings, farm markets or events – see our Ag Events page.

Mill fan.