The barn Gilroy almost tore down

On the north side of Christmas Hill Park stands a big red barn that came within months of being torn down.

Cattle baron Henry Miller built it in 1891, a redwood hay barn for his cattle and horses, later used for processing fruit. The City got the park land in 1962 and bought the barn’s parcel in 1990. For a while the barn stored Garlic Festival signs. Then the City worried about the structure and closed it, and by the mid-1990s it was sealed shut.

In November 2013 the City Council voted to take it down. That December the president of the Gilroy Historical Society said the roof was “half torn off.”

Neighbors asked for one year to save it. In February 2014 the Council gave them that year to come back with money and a plan. They went looking and found the proof: a San Jose newspaper item from May 1891 reporting that Miller was building the barn. An engineering firm found “nothing fundamentally wrong in the structure.” In 2016 the demolition plan officially ended, and the barn went on the National Register of Historic Places.

The first big job was the roof. Years of wind and rain had curled its 1950s metal sheets until the fastenings failed and holes opened. The volunteers replaced it in 2017. In 2020 the barn went onto a new concrete foundation, with one side lifted 12 inches to level it. In 2021 came the paint: a blue-grey primer first (“Some people thought that the Red Barn had changed into the Blue Barn”), then red with white trim.

That’s the order on any old building: roof first. It’s true to any house; longevity depends a lot on a clear and functioning roof and gutter systems. Before the rains, check that the roof edges are tight and the gutters and downspouts are clear. If you ever need a professional eye and hands on your roof and gutters, we’ll be honored to be at your service. Sunshine Gutters and Roofing – Let us shine on your rainy day.