our property history

Every story has a beginning and ours began in 1802. At that time, a minister named Reverend McClain purchased this property and turned it into a 100+ acre farm and mission post. The stone house on the hill above the winery was built by the Reverend and a group of Virginia carpenters. The frame of the house was hewn from locally harvested trees.

Sometime around the Great Depression, the Jamison family purchased this property from McClain’s and operated it as a working farm. The original barn burned down as the result of a lightening strike in the 1940s.

The existing structure was originally built as an exhibition barn during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. After the Fair, it was purchased by a local family, the McGranahan’s, who disassembled it in St. Louis and reassembled it on their property here in Jamestown. It was then purchased by the Jamison Family and moved to this location using logs and draft horses. The Jamison’s used this barn to house their livestock.

The building is not characteristic of barns in the northeastern United States. You may notice that there are no trusses spanning the center of the building, giving the structure an open area from floor to ceiling. This is due to the roof being cantilevered from the outside walls.

The former owners fell in love with this barn and a lot of what you see here was partially due to their visionary skills. We took what they left and added many of our own unique touches.

We welcome you to The Gatehouse Winery at Pymatuning—come in, relax, share a bottle of our fabulous wines, and enjoy our delicious foods with family and friends!