Historic Gettysburg Adams County honored the recipients for its Barn of the Year and Historic House awards at its recent 2025 Annual Dinner, held this year at the historic Beech Springs Farm barn in Orrtanna.
HGAC President Bernie Mazer and Vice President Greg Kaufmann welcomed the 80 members and guests gathered for the event and noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of HGAC as an organization.
Curt Musselman, founding Executive Director of the HGAC Barn Preservation Project and Grant Program, presented the award for the 2025 Barn of the Year to the R&L Orchard Company’s Chapel Hill Farm Barn, located on Clines Church Road in Gardners. Ellie Rice, President of the R&L Orchard Company, accepted the award.
The Chapel Hill Farm barn was built around 1830 and is an excellent example of an Extended Schweizer Pennsylvania Barn of stone construction. Musselman noted that as with most historic barns, its primary use has changed over the years, but the R&L Orchard Company has done a beautiful job of preserving the integrity of its many unique architectural features. This barn was the 200th barn added to the HGAC Barn Register back in 2015, and is one of eight historic barns that is owned and maintained by R&L Orchards.
House Preservation Chair Kendra Debany presented the Historic House award to Jeff and Barbara Griscavage for their work restoring a c 1866 store building at 2558 Mummasburg Road outside Gettysburg. Debany noted that HGAC’s House award has often honored other building types since its inception in 1985 (and often more than one recipient was named each year). The Griscavages are the 150th recipient of the award.
The building was originally a boot and shoe store erected by Nicholas Miller, who also used it as a general store into the early1900s. The Griscavages bought the property in 2015. Debany said the House Preservation Award Committee felt that the Griscavage’s efforts best showcased what they were looking for in an award winner — most importantly, undertaking the preservation of a circa 1866 building with a tremendous amount of local history attached to it.
Rather than tearing down such an important structure, the Griscavages made the decision to put their time, energy and resources into fixing it and saving it for many years to come, Debany said.
Musselman noted that Jayne and William Shord, owners of Beech Spring Farm and hosts for the annual dinner, won the 2013 Barn of the Year Award from HGAC.
The HGAC Barn Register now includes 422 historic barns within Adams County. Inclusion in the Register makes barns eligible for preservation grants of up to $5,000 from HGAC. Another benefit to barn owners for listing their barn on the HGAC Register is that they will receive 50% off on the cost of paint purchased for their barn at the local Sherwin Williams Paint stores. If you own a barn and are interested in having it included in the HGAC Barn Register, please call Curt Musselman at (717) 659-8827.
Featured image caption: 2025 Barn of the Year, the R&L Orchard Company’s Chapel Hill Farm Barn, located on Clines Church Road in Gardners.