Colonial Dutch barns were once scattered throughout the Mohawk Valley but are now relatively rare. Their square profiles once loomed over the rural landscape, and their H-framed construction with mortise and tenon joints was designed specifically for the processing and storage of grain. As grain production, a staple of many New York farms, shifted westward with the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, these specialized barns were slowly replaced by structures more conducive to other types of farming. In 1995, the Nilsen family donated this historic 1760s Dutch barn to SCHS. Located in Johnstown, NY, the barn was disassembled, the timbers repaired, and then moved to Mabee Farm from 1999 to 2001. It was re-erected at this location based on archaeological mapping that identified the area as the site of the Mabees' original Dutch barn.