Heavy Snows Destroy
Old Horse Sheds
Story and Photo by Bob Eddy

Rain-soaked snow brought the horse sheds on the side of one of Randolph village's oldest homes crashing to the ground Tuesday afternoon. Built in 1820 by Samuel Mann, the stately brick colonial is owned by Donald and Joyce Jacobs and is home to Rob and Maureen Start and their family.

At the 3:45 p.m. time of collapse, the Start children were home. An extremely upset Libby called her father at Vermont Wooden Box Company, less than half a mile away. Her brother, Alex, home sick from school, slept right through the deafening crash.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Start, early Wednesday. "It wasn't 10 below; no one was hurt; the cats got out; and we have insurance on the contents."

The historic 50- to 60-foot shed extension is also insured, reported Don Jacobs. The second floor was lath and plaster and had, at one time, been used for dances. The ground level included an entry room to the house and several stalls, which hearkened back to the early years in West Randolph when everything was conveyed by horse and oxen.

Samuel Mann was the owner of several businesses including a distillery and a general store which stood near the home he built. With his brother-in-law, Earl Dubois, Mann also had a freight business, running furniture, wood, wool, grain, flour, and other products to and from Boston markets. It was not until 1848 that trains would be used for freight from Randolph. After that date, and well into the twentieth century, these sheds kept horses which met trains, taking passengers and freight throughout the region.

Jacobs purchased the Mann property in 1977 from Burley and Flossie Day, after a small fire. In 1989 a lightning strike destroyed the roof. In both of these instances, Jacobs endeavored to reconstruct with care for the historic features of the property.

"We are hoping to rebuild the horse sheds as they were," Don Jacobs said Wednesday.