Barn Forensics: Examining Clues on the History of the Shepherd Barn
Saturday, October 25, 2025 | 2 to 3 pm 
At the 1805 Shepherd Barn, 66 Bridge Street, Northampton, Mass.​
Limited to 30.
​Sliding scale admission: $10-25.
Join timber framer, architect, and barn historian Jack Sobon for a special one-hour "tour" of the Shepherd barn. Jack will point out the clues that reveal the structure's previous "lives" and uses.  
 
As a special bonus, Jack will give a show-and-tell of some barn tools and artifacts from his collection. 
Jack A. Sobon is an architect and builder specializing in timber framed buildings. Since 1980 he has devoted his life to understanding the craft of traditional timber framing. Using only traditional hand tools, he has framed and erected over 60 structures. 
 
As a consultant, Jack deciphers historic structures, including Historic Northampton's Shepherd Barn, prior to the Barn's restoration. He is a founding director of the Timber Framers Guild of North America and of that organization's Traditional Timber Frame Research and Advisory Group. He is the author of four books and has taught more than 50 all hand tool workshops.
Diagram of an early 19th-century English Barn
In 2020-2021, master timber framer Jack Sobon examined the construction and carpentry of the Shepherd barn focusing on evidence of its original purpose and use and how it had been modified over 115 years.