Expansion of the Property to 19.2 Acres
In the mid 1980s, as development in the area increased, the Society became interested in adding an additional 20 acres of land to the property to protect the property’s historical significance and to allow for the opportunity to develop the property into a working village or living museum concept. The Society was not successful in this endeavor.
However, in 1990, efforts by a developer of the adjoining land led to the potential for the donation of some land by the developer to serve as a buffer between the historic site and a proposed golf course. During that year, the proposed amount of donated property fluctuated from a low of 3 acres to a high of 20 acres, with area residents and the Society suggesting as much as 50 acres be donated in order to develop a working village. By December 1990 it was generally agreed that the developers would donate 16 to 20 acres to the county for the Winn House within 2 years. Finally, in 1994, 16.2 acres were deeded to the county, 4 of which were located across the street from the main property.
Plans for a working village never came into being, although several buildings in support of such a project were donated and moved to the property over the years. This permits the Society to demonstrate on a limited scale such arts as weaving, candle making, tatting, quilting, and butter churning at their annual Elisha Winn Fair on the first weekend of October. Limited resources and the creation of a working farm at another site in the county in 2004 have generally eliminated the potential for developing the Winn property into a living museum in the near future.