News from the Aptos Village Project
There have been some interesting finds in the Hihn Apple Barn.
The relocation and rehabilitation of the historic building will include a permanent interpretative display for the public to understand the association to F. A. Hihn and the apple-shipping era in Aptos. Some of the items that will be shared with the public in this display were actually discovered as crews cleaned and stabilized the barn to move it.
One interesting find was an old scale built into the floor near the loading dock. The scale, which is not currently functional, was used to weigh apples.
It will be saved and have a place in one of the two historical displays that will be a part of the renovated barn — one inside the New Leaf Community Market; the other on the exterior of the building facing the new Village Green common area.
The historical architect overseeing the project and handling artifacts was surprised to find the barn had been re-roofed in the early 1970s using newspaper-printing plates. Hundreds of aluminum sheets have been found, and some will be used in the historical displays.
Additionally, old fruit boxes branded with the names of local orchards, stickers for apple boxes and fruit-focused promotional posters have been discovered on the walls as the barn was stripped down to its original structure.
