Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park | BLOW-ME-DOWN FARM

Blow-Me-Down-Farm (photo by NPS Cultural Landscapes)

Blow-Me-Down-Farm (photo by NPS Cultural Landscapes)

Blow-Me-Down Farm is located on the west side of Route 12A near the intersection with Saint-Gaudens Road. It was the property of Charles Beaman, a friend of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and is significant to Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park because it was part of the Cornish Artist Colony that was established in the 1890s. Half of the farm was acquired by the National Park Service in 1984 and the other half in 2012. It is closed to the public except for a few days each month (July-October) when guided tours of the property are conducted. If interested, the schedule is posted on the National Park Service’s official Calendar web page for the park

Beaman was a big art lover and felt that if he could get Saint-Gaudens to start coming to Cornish for the summers that other artists would soon follow. He purchased what is now Aspet in 1884 and rented it to Saint-Gaudens each summer until the famed sculptor purchased the property in 1891. Beaman also owned much of the surrounding land and rented it to artists as the Cornish Colony grew. At the peak of its popularity, approximately two hundred artists lived in Cornish and other nearby towns.

Blow-Me-Down Farm was a gentleman’s farm, meaning that it was more for show than actual agricultural production. I’m not sure how Beaman ran his place, but most often a gentleman farmer hires outside help, even tenant farmers, to run the daily operation. Evidence that Beaman was a gentleman farmer comes from the fact that the main building at the farm was a casino.

The Casino began as a nondescript building that was constructed in 1787 and later converted into a barn. Beaman expanded and remodeled it into the Casino between 1887 and 1888. It was enlarged once again in 1927 when it became a residence.

A one-story Dance Hall was built in 1888 as an attachment to the Casino and used as a bowling alley. It was converted into a free-standing building and moved to its present location sometime between 1927 and 1929.

Dance Hall (left) and Casino (right) at Blow-Me-Down-Farm (photo by NPS Cultural Landscapes)

Dance Hall (left) and Casino (right) at Blow-Me-Down-Farm (photo by NPS Cultural Landscapes)

A cluster of three buildings located northeast of the Casino include a chicken coop (c. 1888), a carriage house (c. 1884), and a wood shed (c. 1890).

The largest building on the farm is a bank barn that was constructed in 1884. A bank barn is a style of barn that is built into a hill, or bank, allowing access to the bottom floor from the bottom of the hill and the top floor from the top of the hill. The barn was restored between 1998 and 1999.

Bank Barn at Blow-Me-Down Farm (photo by NPS Cultural Landscapes)

Bank Barn at Blow-Me-Down Farm (photo by NPS Cultural Landscapes)

Located across Route 12A from the farm is the Blow-Me-Down Mill, retaining wall, dam, pond, and stone arch bridge. All were built around 1891 except for the bridge, which dates to 1888. The original dam has since been replaced numerous times, most recently in 1984 by the National Park Service. These structures, as well as the farm, can also be reached by hiking the Blow-Me-Down Trail.

Mill at Blow-Me-Down Pond (photo by the National Park Service)

Mill at Blow-Me-Down Pond (photo by the National Park Service)

Stone Arch Bridge (photo by the National Park Service)

Stone Arch Bridge (photo by the National Park Service)

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Last updated on June 15, 2020
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