In 1971, Harrigans' Barn was constructed. Jack Harrigan was the custodian at Emerson Grade School for many years, and many remember him as the ringer of the school bell. After Emerson was decommissioned, Jack had a vision and contracted with the school district to tear Emerson down. Jack did not have heavy equipment or a lot of workers to help him do this task, but he had a dream, and he knew he could use the materials in Emerson, so he began fulfilling this commitment.  Jack and several others, including his family, set about to bring Emerson down. Jack contacted the Kelly brothers, who had a WW2 tank. They drove the tank to Emerson, strapped giant chains into the window cavities, and pulled the building down. 
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Jack’s family got involved in the long-running chore of chipping mortar from the bricks and collecting building materials. Jack bartered and sold what he did not use to build his dream. Today, Harrigans’ Barn is a result of all of those dedicated efforts.