Above: All that remains of the Johnson family’s barn is a pile of rubble
Every time I drive by the old gray barn on Northboro Road just east of the Route 495 overpass, I think of stopping to take a photograph. I’ve always loved that barn and how it speaks to Southborough’s rural past. Turns out I should have done it while I had the chance, because as of yesterday, the big gray barn is no more.
The barn has been owned by the Johnson family since it was built in the early 1930’s. Up until the early 1980’s it housed some of the family’s 250 Holstein dairy cows. But with the cows long gone, the barn fell into disrepair. The roof leaked and the wood building started rotting, so the family decided it was time for it to come down.
“It’s emotional just because it’s family history. This is the last standing barn we had,” Josh J. Johnson, whose grandfather was the last to operate a dairy in the barn, told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
You can read more in the local media. Linda Hubley also has some photos of the demolition up on her site SouthboroughNews.com.
- Storied barn razed in Southboro (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
- Historic Southborough barn demolished today (Metrowest Daily News)
It’s sad to see it go, but there will always be the memories of seeing Ralph and Sereno Johnson around the barn. How much they loved their farm and their cows.
My cat Oliver came from that barn about 12 years ago…went there looking for a calico female, ended up with an orange tabby male who rules the neighborhood. I tell people that he lived around cows, dogs don’t exactly worry him. Sad to see another cool old building disappear….