A historic Southbury landmark is heavily damaged and partly destroyed. Flooding from Sunday’s storm leveled a barn at the Wakeley Plow Shop in town.
The property owner said everything will have to be demolished.
Don Whittle woke up Monday morning to a devastating scene.
“I was woken up to what felt like a freight train, and it sounded like a bomb going off,” he said.
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Flooding from Sunday’s strong storm leveled the barn next to the historic Wakeley Plow Shop on his property.
Video captured from Whittle’s home across the street shows the barn destroyed in less than 20 minutes.
“Here it’s all circa 1800. It’s made it through every storm ever, and just like this is the one that finally did it in,” he said.
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Whittle had been restoring the barn and the historic plow shop since moving to town 36 years ago. It’s a passion project he devoted so much time to. The shop is prominently showcased on the town seal.
It’s a place that was once an old mill and even helped create horse plows for people in town.
“It was sort of my canvas. If this was art, this was my painting,” Whittle said.
A painting that’s now been stripped of its canvas. Whittle said the barn can’t be rebuilt and the plow shop will be demolished as it’s no longer structurally sound. He said his daughter who visited just two weeks ago from out of state was devastated at the destruction.
“They were so impressed with the barn and the kids were loving it. Now it’s gone,” Whittle said.
Rather than dwelling at the loss, his daughter helped raise more than $10,000 from neighbors to help with cleanup costs.
“They put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I had fallen. I had broken and they came and helped clean up the house,” he said.
Whittle said while he takes pride in supporting himself, he’s grateful for the help from the Southbury community.
“The kindness of the people absolutely overwhelms me,” he said.
Whittle said the damage still needs to be surveyed and documented before he cleans up. He also plans to apply for help from FEMA.
