Boasting several unique features, including an internal silo or a water tank, it is believed that the laminated trusses in this barn were added at a later date by J.T. Wells and Sons in order to give the barn a gambrel roof. While the trusses in most documented Wells Barns begin beneath the sill, the laminated trusses in this barn begin on a crossbeam and soar upwards meeting at the ridge purlin.

In 2003, O’Brien and Rusinovich purchased their historic home originally built by Joseph Thornell. At that time, the adjacent barns were part of a separate parcel that the New York Water Authority was considering for a pumping station. When the Water Authority’s plans fell through, rumors started circulating that the barns were at-risk for demolition. Determined to rescue them, O’Brien and her partner researched what it would take to preserve them and presented her case to the Water Authority. In 2005, the municipality agreed to sell the adjacent land and the barns to them.

Since then, they have brought new life to the barns by giving tours to school children, by hosting Historic Pittsford annual meetings on-site, and by celebrating family birthdays and weddings inside.