Mount Joy, one of Howard County's Top Ten Endangered Historic sites, is located in Ellicott City between Route 108 and route 100. Although the developer has committed to preserving and restoring the historic manor house and adjacent outbuildings, several barns on the property are will be demolished by October of 2003 to make way for residential development.

The oldest of these barns is the structure that the Howard County Conservancy is trying to save by disassembling it and moving it to another historic Howard County farm. The barn appears to be different in size and style from other typical Maryland barns. Hand-hewn oak and chesnut timbers make up the timber frame which sits above an eight-foot stone basement. It is likely that this barn was witnessed most of the agricultural changes in central Maryland over the last 200 years.

Once the barn is disassembled and repaired, it will be reassembled on the Mount Pleasant Farm. Mount Pleasant is a 232 acre permanently protected farm in Woodbine that serves as the headquarters of the Howard County Conservancy. The barn will be accessible to the public and to the 12,000 school children who visit the farm each year.

On June 21st, 2003, volunteers, including representatives from the Howard County Conservancy, Preservation Howard County, Howard County Heritage Division, and Americorps Civilian Conservation Corps program, assembled to remove the hay stored in the loft of the barn. The hay had been moldering for some time and the ensuing dampness was causing damage to the floor boards. Four hours, one black snake, several bee hives (including one six-foot-long hive) later... the hay was cleared from the loft.

The job could not have been done without the help of these terrific volunteers. The Conservancy and PHC would especially like to thank the young men and women of Americorps who loaned us their time, strong backs and enthusiasm.