Preserving a Wyoming Legacy
Cora, Wyoming
Photography and video by Paul Lavold
At Cora Ranch, the work was not about replacing the past. It was about giving a historic Wyoming barn the structure it needed to stand for generations to come.
Ridgeline developed coordinated shop drawings with Vera Iconica Architecture, supplied reclaimed structural Douglas fir, and prefabricated the bent frames off site to fit precisely within the barn's existing log walls.
When every piece was ready, Big Horn Quality Builders removed the roof and Ridgeline mobilized for a tightly sequenced installation—setting the frame and helping get the building protected again before heavy Wyoming snowfall.
General Contractor: Big Horn Quality Builders · Architect: Vera Iconica Architecture
A new structural frame had to fit inside an existing historic barn where the old log walls, elevations, and field conditions were already established.
Ridgeline treated the shop drawings as the installation plan, coordinating timber geometry, existing walls, steel, and construction sequencing before the roof came off.
Ridgeline supplied reclaimed structural Douglas fir recovered from WWII-era warehouse sources at the Port of Oakland and Port Townsend. The material was laid out, cut, fitted, and prepared into complete bent assemblies off site.
Our crew then installed the bents, girders, ties, braces, and roof framing within the historic shell, coordinating closely with the builder as the barn moved from open roof to protected structure.
The finished frame gives an old barn a long road ahead without erasing the marks of the life it already lived. Historic log walls and reclaimed Douglas fir now work together as one structure.
Out here, preservation is practical. It means protecting what is worth keeping, doing the work right, and leaving the next generation something honest to inherit.
Measured, Modeled, and Ready Before the Roof Came Off
The shop drawings turned an irregular existing barn into a precise installation sequence—resolving the frame, the roof, and the hidden steel before field work began.
Bent spacing, flush conditions at the existing log walls, girder elevations, and roof geometry all had to agree before a timber was cut.
Concealed knife plates, base connections, and steel hardware were coordinated into the reclaimed timbers so the new frame could carry modern structural demands while still reading like it belonged in the original barn.
Port of Oakland, 1941 · Historical image supplied by Ridgeline
Materials With a Past
Before these timbers came to Wyoming, they carried another generation of American work.
The Cora Ranch frame was fabricated from reclaimed Douglas fir recovered from WWII-era warehouse sources at the Port of Oakland and Port Townsend. Massive industrial timbers were given a second structural life rather than being discarded.
Their age, scale, and working history make them the right material for this barn: old wood supporting an old place, both prepared to keep serving.
The Frame
Reclaimed · Structural
Prefabricated bent assemblies brought repeatable geometry and efficient raising to a highly irregular existing structure.
Integrated · Concealed
Knife plates, bolts, base connections, and custom hardware carry the structural work while keeping the timber frame visually quiet and true to the barn.
Let's bring your project to life with authentic materials and expert craftsmanship.
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Photography and video by Paul Lavold
