From animals to artwork: Recording the history of the Luther Barn - Part I

WASSAIC — Throughout the seasons and the celebrations, the Luther Barn has a long history in the hamlet. Recently, it’s been the site for The Wassaic Project, with musicians, dancers, filmmakers and the resident artists who have transformed the barn’s unoccupied stalls into makeshift studios. Whether dropping by for the seasonal exhibitions or for events like the fire company’s tractor pull, the Luther Barn has hosted much over the years. Local residents and visiting artists might be interested to learn that the barn was once famed for its booming livestock market and auction ring as operated by the Luther family.

The Wassaic Project purchased the barn in 2007. Dave Luther, the grandson of the barn’s original owner, Delos D. Luther, is now sharing its history that reaches far beyond its recent years. 

Gesturing to the roof over the main part of the barn, Dave Luther said the barn’s main structure was constructed in 1875, a year commemorated in the slate along the roof. The construction of the barn’s south end followed in the 1950s while the barn’s north end was built in the 1960s. Around the 1940s, Delos D. Luther purchased the barn and, after converting the former cattle barn into Luther’s Livestock Commission Market, made his first sale from a bag of potatoes in 1948. To this day, Dave has framed and held onto his grandfather’s first dollar with its signatures from both the buyer and seller. 

Acting as the agent among the farmer, seller and buyer, Delos provided a place for people to auction off their livestock and received a commission for his labors, depending on the size of the animal. The market officially opened for business in 1948, selling livestock twice a week on Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. “until you were done,” according to Dave.

“This is the life I knew,” he said, “I loved it… It taught me how to be sociable, how to interact with people, because that’s what this job is about. I got to learn who the shady guys were and who the honest guys were by watching my grandfather.

“My grandfather always [spoke about] honest and fair dealing,” Dave added. “His job was to keep both sides of the table fair.”

Reminiscing about his childhood in his grandfather’s barn, Dave recalled specific tasks set aside for each day of the week. Beyond the action taking place in the auction ring, Mondays were primarily meant for selling horse equipment and tack as well as horses for riding from 1 to 5 p.m. Come Monday and Tuesday evenings, there would be people lined up across the building to purchase livestock, all of which were groomed, tested and checked before each sale. With cattle marketed as a guaranteed bestseller, rows of seats at the auction ring were frequently occupied by meat packers.

Delos and his son, David, served as auctioneers. Keeping the business within the Luther family, Delos’ wife, Queenie, took care of the books while David’s eldest son, Delos Luther II, joined the market as an auctioneer in the 1970s. By December of 1978, Dave began working at the auction at the age of 18.

Once the cattle were sold in the ring, they were sent up the alley one at a time and put into the pen assigned to their buyer. They were later loaded into the buyer’s vehicle via the loading and unloading area near the north end of the barn. After the sale was finished on Tuesday night, the Luthers employed men to scrape the pens and dump the manure out in the field on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays to prepare the barn for the following Monday.

“My grandfather had quite the list of employees,” Dave said. “If there was anyone in need of a job, they were told to seek out Old Man Luther.”

As for the other days of the week, dairy cattle were sold on Friday nights. Throughout the year, the barn held farm sales featuring farm equipment, machinery and cattle. Around the Christmas season, the family organized two to three special auctions where customers could get their Christmas shopping done. Outside of the barn, the surrounding property played host to rodeos during the 1960s along with bull riding and barrel racing.

Yet for all of their success in the local community, the Luthers did endure their share of setbacks in the auction ring. In December of 1978, they dropped under 100 cows in auction (meaning the farmers were discontinuing bringing their cattle to auction due to the high cost of grain, equipment, taxes and low prices for milk). With no cattle for sale, given the market at the time, it was an obstacle from which the Luther family never recovered.

Following Delos’ death in June of 1982, Queenie continued to run the auction and had the final say in all of the auction’s operations while David and Delos took care of the daily business. At the onset of her own illness, Queenie decided she wanted to close the market and limit its business to selling rabbits, chickens, eggs and farm module. It was at that point, Dave noted, that what they were selling wasn’t even covering the taxes on the property, and the market ultimately closed in 2003 with its last sale taking place in December of that year.

“People were heartbroken,” Dave recalled, “because this wasn’t just an auction: it was a social function… it was a social event, that’s why people came to auctions.”

Even after the market had closed, Dave continued to conduct business out of the barn, traveling to auctions to purchase goats and sheep and dabbling in the livestock business. 

It was around 2007 that the barn caught the eye of Eve Biddle and Bowie Zunino, who would later become the co-executive directors of The Wassaic Project. Working with local real estate agent Bob Riemer, Zunino and Biddle had a vision for including the barn in The Wassaic Project and approached David with their ideas. Around that time, Dave remembered his father was getting fed up with the town of Amenia and was ready for a change. Following Queenie’s passing, David sold the barn to Zunino and Biddle, angering Dave who was still doing business in the barn.

“It caught me off guard,” Dave admitted, adding that he found out when Riemer told him the new owners wanted to know if he planned to sell the farm equipment in the barn.

Approaching his father about the barn’s sale, Dave remembered David telling him, “You’re going to thank me someday.” While he didn’t disclose the barn’s selling price, Dave admitted that he now understands what his father meant at the time, especially due to the cost of upkeep and the high taxes, which were becoming a burden.

To learn more about the history of the Luther Barn, look for part two in next week’s edition of The Millerton News.