Rochester Hills Museum Seeks Barn Tile For Dairy Barn Renovation

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — As part of the renovation and replacement of the roof structure on the Van Hoosen Dairy Barn, the Rochester Hills Museum is seeking glazed block to repair broken blocks and to restore several building openings back to their original design.

The brown glazed blocks were manufactured by the National Fire Proofing Company and are referred to as Natco Hollow tiles, the museum said in a news release. They measure 16” x 8” x 8”. The museum said it needs up to 30 blocks.

One of the Van Hoosen Barns was used as an advertisement for the block in 1915 but the original company is no longer in business, the museum said.

“We want our renovation to be accurate and we want to use original block — whether another farm has a supply or if we can salvage them from another building," Museum Manager Patrick McKay said. "We will pick them up if someone can let us know of a supply — we will take any amount we can get.”

The Dairy Barn is part of a 16-acre campus of historic buildings that make up the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. The Dairy Barn contains exhibits, archives, Museum store, conference room and offices. The Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.