Paula Spina bought the farm, and she did it sight unseen.
What shock, what tremendous buyer’s remorse, when she first visited her Whidbey Island farm on a nasty October day.
“I’ve got to get out of this,” she recalled thinking.
Everything changed for Spina when the owners insisted she see inside the nearly 150-year-old barn.
“They opened the barn, I stepped inside and it was unbelievable,” Spina said. “Suddenly, the universe was so good.”
It’s a good thing her opinion changed because Spina didn’t purchase just any 11.5 acres.
She and partner Lance Loomis own what’s left of the 640-acre Crockett homestead. Col. Walter Crockett was an island pioneer and an important figure in Washington territory history. A real estate friend talked her into making an offer on the property sight unseen because she knew Spina was looking for an old barn that could be converted into a dance hall and art gallery.
Spina always thought that property would be the city. She never thought she’d be living on a farm.
When she purchased the property four years ago, she also probably didn’t imagine herself becoming a public advocate for preservation.
Today she’s a member of Island County’s Historical Review Committee. At the moment, she’s fighting the approval of a building permit for a 5,000-square-foot contemporary house on the same property as the Sam Crockett house in Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve, a national park that’s made up mainly of private land designed to preserve the historical character of the land. She said the home was mistakenly approved and county leaders refuse to revoke the permit for fear they’ll be sued.
“Whidbey Island is such a special place, but it will only remain special if we preserve it,” she said. “This is supposed to be reserved as a rural, special area. A lot of places off island are better suited for bedroom communities.”
The plan for the Crockett Farm is to bring it back to agriculture.
The property includes a treasure of a barn built in 1895 and a farmhouse considered the first stick-built house on the island. Nearby is a blockhouse built in the 1850s to protect the family from Indian attacks. Crockett Farm is part of the reserve. She recently purchased another 10 acres adjacent to hers that includes the farm’s old granary building.
Spina prefers to think of herself as the steward of the Crockett Lake Farm, rather than the owner. Whatever the title, caring for this place is a job and an expensive one.
Repairing a historical building is one of the hardest battles owners fight, she said. The building has to be updated along certain guidelines and those repairs often cost more.
If a modern use can’t be found for a historical building, it often falls into disrepair, she said. Since most old buildings don’t meet modern building codes, they often can’t be used for modern purposes, such as rental facilities for private parties and weddings.
“It’s almost impossible to come up with the money to keep them up,” she said. “A lot of barns are being allowed to fall down because the owners can’t use them for agriculture.”
The previous owners replaced the barn’s roof and rented it out for weddings and other events. They operated the farmhouse as a bed-and-breakfast. Spina would like to operate the farmhouse again as a B&B. She has continued to rent out the barn to help pay for upkeep. She also made other improvements, including building a wall that approaches art with stones from the farm lovingly placed.
The barn feels solid and square. The top level is open and airy, it’s giant doors can slide open for functions. A dance floor and a stage were added. Downstairs, where livestock and equipment used to be kept, art classes are now held.
The Lovejoy Bros., well-known builders at the time, built it strong and solid with old-growth timber. Wood dowels were used to secure the beams, rather than steel bolts or plates. The architecture is more like barns built even earlier farther east, perhaps reflecting Crockett’s own upbringing in Virginia and Missouri.
In December of last year, Island County officials began requiring those who rented the facilities to pay an additional $290 special-event permit. That fee would make renting out the facility too costly, particularly to charities, she said. She’s working with the county now on a resolution.
Her former career as a corporate attorney has given her the financial means to care for the property whether its open for functions or not. She said she’d prefer to share it with the community rather than keep it to herself.
“I’ve made enough that I can afford to be the steward and make sure the Crockett Farm is protected,” she said. “A lot of these farms can’t, and they’ve got to make it work. I’m going to make it work as long as I’m there.”
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com. Visit her blog at www.heraldnet.com.
Preserving the farm
The Crockett Farm on central Whidbey Island is a historically important place because it’s still there, said Claud “Al” Smith, a historian who used to work at the Island County Historical Society in Coupeville.
Few properties like it still exist in the area. The farm includes the original barn, built circa 1895, and a farmhouse that’s considered the first stick-built building on the island. The barn is an unusual architectural style for its age and the Northwest. It’s cube shape, topped with a cupola, isn’t like most area barns, which were rectangular. The bottom floor is completely bricked, probably because livestock were kept there and the area was probably regularly mucked out.
No one is sure exactly when the home was built, but Smith said some part of the house was probably built between 1851 and 1853. It was certainly added onto over time. He described its style as early Victorian.
Smith said the property was a good example of “educated preservation.”
“Some things deserve to be preserved and some absolutely don’t,” he said.
This does.
More information
www.crockettbarn.com
360-678-2036
Preserving the environment
Visitors to the Crockett Farm won’t notice one interesting addition to the property — unless they need to use the facilities.
Owners Paula Spina and Lance Loomis added composting toilets, a move that will conserve water, produce usable compost for the farm and eliminate the need for another septic system.
Composting toilets aren’t the same as outhouses or pit toilets. If they’re installed correctly, there’s no odor, at least not more than than with a conventional toilet. And unlike the toilet in your bathroom, they don’t require a septic or sewer system.
Composting toilets use little or no water and turn waste into compost on site. They come in various designs, but all work under the principle of aerobic decomposition. The toilet regulates air and temperatures to promote optimal breakdown, according to Composting Toilets.org, an online site devoted to the subject. Tongs may mix the pile and some involve the addition of composting worms or beneficial micro-organisms. Many systems, including the two at the Crockett Farm, can handle vegetable scraps and garden green waste.
Spina said each toilet costs $6,000 delivered.
“It’s a lot more expensive, but in our opinion, it’s definitely worth it,” she said.
The toilets are hidden in a 12-by-16-foot outbuilding that looks like a little red barn. The top level looks like any other bathroom. An unseen “basement” level holds the inner workings. Each toilet has a large gray container split into levels. As the microbes do their work, the waste makes its way down. In about two years, finished compost is ready; just pull open a drawer and shovel it out.
Spina said they plan to age the compost another year outside, and then it will be used only on nonedible crops and beds.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com. Visit her blog at www.heraldnet.com.
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