ROYALSTON — Many Royalston residents are familiar – whether they know it or not , with the work of – Tom Musco, owner of Royalston Oak Timber Frames.

Every time they drive past the gazebo in South Village, they’re looking at Musco’s work. He’s been practicing his craft in one form or another for more than four decades. In addition to structures, he has crafted furniture and musical instruments.

This past weekend, Musco put his skills to work building a new wood-frame barn on the site of a barn destroyed by a February 2022 fire. That former barn sat on the Blossom Street property owned by Tom and Dr. Lynne Kellner.

“Tom is an artist, a sculptor, he taught for many years,” said Musco. “So (the barn) was sort of his studio or workspace. I had decided I was going to retire at the end of last year, but I’ve known Tom since they moved here in the ’80s, I think it was, and he asked me after the fire if I would build him a timber-frame for a new barn. The original barn had a timber frame – it was a 130-year-old barn.”

The process of designing the new structure then got underway, along with securing the proper permits. Before construction began, plans were reviewed by a structural engineer, which took approximately six months to complete.

“Basically, it’s the same footprint as the original building because it’s noncompliant,” he said. “The building inspector wouldn’t let them build anything bigger.”

From concept to actual construction took about 15 months, according to Musco. The footprint of the barn is 24 feet by 26 feet, and will consist of three floors.

“On the (Millers River) side of Blossom Street, the land drops off 10 or 12 feet straight down. The original barn was down at the river level. The first floor was at the river level,” Musco said. “We’ll build it back the same way but not with a stone foundation, with a poured concrete foundation. That whole foundation had to go through a structural engineer process – getting designed and approved.”

Asked if the barn he was about to construct is what’s known as “post and beam,” Musco said it’s similar, but more of a timber-frame style.

“Timber frames are structures that use big timbers, and all the connections are wooden connections – wooden pegs and special types of joints, some that don’t need pegs,” Musco added. “Post and beam is just a structure that uses big timbers, but usually they’re put together with plates and bolts. This is a traditional New England timber-frame style.”

To secure the timbers needed to undertake this latest project, he said, he had to go to Woodell & Daughters Forest Products in Langdon, New Hampshire.

A sprinkle of rain was falling when work began Saturday morning. A number of volunteers were on hand to help with the construction of the heavy wooden frame, including Musco’s son-in-law, Josh Doub. Relatives of the Kellners and other friends and neighbors also pitched in.

Musco said when he first moved to the area there were any number of sawmills, small and large.

“Basically, they’ve all disappeared,” he said.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.