Case Study: Win-Mock Farm, North Carolina

The impressive hay loft provides a large assembly space for events. Photo courtesy West and Stem Architects, Winston-Salem, NC

Constructed in the mid-1920s, the Win-Mock Farm was once one of the largest dairies in North Carolina. The dairy farm was part of a larger estate owned by S. Clay Williams who at one time was a president of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company. The name of the farm was derived from a combination of “Winston-Salem” and “Mocksville” as the farm lies halfway between the two county seats. Win-Mock Farm was listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places due to its significance in architecture.

Top: The farm retains a natural and rural sense despite encroaching development. Middle: Painted wood-plank walls were retained as interior finish surfaces. Bottom: The exterior of the main dairy barn was altered slightly with new windows and doors installed in the large openings at ground level

The dairy was developed between 1924 and 1933 and put into practice various scientific advancements in the dairy farming industry such as barn designs that housed more livestock and promoted labor efficiencies, increased reliance on mechanization, and more emphasis on the health and sanitation of the animals. The property today consists of three historic buildings: the Dairy Barn, Bottling Plant, and Granary.

During a recent rehabilitation, the farm was transformed into a highly successful conference and event center. With a total project cost of almost $3.5 million, the three buildings were repaired and adapted to their new uses while distinctive features were retained. Silos attached to the dairy barn were adapted to house egress stairs and an elevator, wood plank walls were retained throughout the flanking calf-barn wings, and the impressive Gothic-arched wood structural system within the large hay loft remains exposed. In the bottling plant some of the historic equipment was retained, and at the granary the open slats of the corn crib were maintained visually from the exterior and backed with a dark-colored cement-board to enclose and weatherize the interior space.