Press Kit
Nye Barn
| For Immediate Release |
Contact: Jennifer Monac
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(508) 746-1622 x8206
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The Nye Barn: A Rare Breeds Exhibit
At Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, MA
Backgrounder
In Plimoth Plantation's 1627 English Village, visitors are often struck by the sight of animals that are somehow different from the ones they have seen before. Although the animals are similar to the ones you might find on a farm today, they are actually more representative of the agricultural breeds that would have inhabited the English settlement in Plymouth in the 1620s. Modern farm animals have often been "improved" by selectively breeding for certain traits, such as large size or increased milk production. Older breeds, by contrast, are often smaller and more hardy, and could serve several purposes. For example, the Milking Devon cow is a triple-purpose breed that is useful as a milk, meat and draft animal, while modern breeds tend to be raised as dairy or meat cattle, but not both. Plimoth Plantation uses a Milking Devon cow to represent the "red cow" that was listed in the Plymouth Colony's records in 1627.
Since 1981, Plimoth Plantation's Agriculture Department has been managing a carefully planned program of obtaining and breeding rare and minor breed animals, especially those from 17th-century gene pools. Some of these older breeds of livestock — Kerry and Milking Devon cattle, San Clemente Island goats, Wiltshire Horn sheep, and Tamworth hogs — are classified by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy as having critically low breeding populations. Because these hardy older breeds are capable of thriving on the poorest land, they are also becoming increasingly important to future farming systems. With this program, Plimoth Plantation has taken on the important role of increasing the numbers of these animals to provide essential conservation of these breeds, as well as to insure that the correct breeds are available for the museum's period exhibits.
Although the public had access to these livestock previously, questions from visitors that couldn't be answered in the 17th-century setting of the Village have underscored the need for a public exhibition area allowing visitors a modern-day perspective. As a result of this, and due to the generosity of Grace S. and Alfred G. Nye, long-time supporters of the museum's educational mission, the Nye Barn was opened in the spring of 1995. The exhibit offers visitors a closer look at some of the animals in the historic and rare breeds program, with explanations in text and photographs relating the history of various breeds, their importance to Plimoth Plantation's programs, and their enormous value in global conservation efforts.
Plimoth Plantation is a non-profit, educational institution that is supported by admission fees, contributions, memberships, function sales, and revenue from our dining programs/services and museum shops. The museum receives support from private foundations, corporations, local businesses, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
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