ALEXANDER GREENWOOD | Owner
Originally from Abington, Pennsylvania, Alex grew up with interests in art and history. His fascination with early country houses led him into restoration carpentry. In 1976, he and two friends purchased Glencairn, a remarkable house near Lawrenceville, New Jersey, dating to the mid-eighteenth century. Although altered and neglected, the house had been documented with photographs and measured drawings by the Historic American Building Survey in 1936. The partners painstakingly restored the house and replaced the fallen barn on the property with another early barn, which was disassembled and later “raised” with friends and family.
This barn project led to the founding in 1980 of the New Jersey Barn Company. Greenwood is a longtime member of the Timber Framers Guild and the Traditional Timber Frame Research and Advisory Group (TTRAG). Alex and his family live in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on an early nineteenth century farm, which includes a collection of relocated outbuildings.
ELRIC ENDERSBY | Owner
Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Elric’s early enthusiasm for local historic houses and outbuildings led him to a degree in Fine Arts/Architecture at Trinity College, Hartford. In 1975 he founded the Princeton History Project – recording the oral histories of individuals with memories stretching back to the 1870’s – and for 12 years edited its award-winning monthly journal The Princeton Recollector.
Endersby has spoken on New Jersey barns and other related topics before many groups over the years. He has conducted barn tours in central New Jersey and documented hundreds of local structures including comprehensive surveys for several townships. He is a member of the Historic Preservation Commission of Princeton and has served as vice president of the Historical Society of Princeton.
In recent years the restoration of an abandoned cottage on the north coast of the Dominican Republic has led to the development of designs for a number of structures in the Dominican vernacular at a new beach resort at Playa Grande.
Dale Emde | Project Manager
While attending college, a chance summer job landed Dale at the New Jersey Barn Company. With little knowledge of carpentry or historic structures he spent a summer dismantling and exploring old barns with Alex and Elric. From this summer job grew a deep and profound love of old timber framed structures and the tools and crafts employed in their construction. After graduating from James Madison University with a B.S. in Economics he abandoned a planned career in finance and joined the Barn Company full time. During his tenure there he has become an integral part of the organization with special interests in traditional joinery, rigging and structural repairs. Dale represents the next generation timber framer and preservationist and is working to advance the techniques for the preservation of historic timber frames.
Christopher Pickell, AIA
Chris, has worked with the New Jersey Barn Company since 1998 on many barn house projects as well as restoration of, and additions to, historic houses. Within the Barn Company, he is responsible for project development from schematic design through construction.
His long experience includes varied work for retail, health care, corporate, religious, municipal, and academic clients. His residential work includes new “old” houses as well as, many renovations and enlargements of older houses. Such work demands a balance between quality and budget, an appreciation for traditional design, and knowledge of early construction methods.
Pickell received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1985. He is a Registered Architect in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, and an active member of the American Institute of Architects.