WINTER HARBOR — The bulldozer lumbering loudly over the flat expanse of earth at Darthia Farm is music to Cynthia and Bill Thayer’s ears.

It means a new barn will soon replace the one incinerated in a pre-dawn fire May 7, claiming the lives of most of the farm’s animals.

The couple’s long ties to the area and their many contributions to the community became evident when word got out that the barn was insured for $15,000 but would cost about $100,000 to replace.

In just two weeks friends, family, acquaintances and strangers contributed more than $70,000 to replace the 153-year-old structure.

“I never thought I would say I love watching a bulldozer, but it’s heartening to think that a barn will be up there soon,” said Cynthia, who has already opened the Darthia farm stand and her adjacent shop with jams, jellies and her woven goods.

Contractor Dale Church is overseeing the construction. The site work was started Monday by J.E. Tracy & Son of Gouldsboro. A slab will be poured Friday.

Framing for the mortise-and-tenon structure, similar to post and beam, is expected to begin in mid-July or earlier.

The new barn will be roughly the same size as the former structure — 48 feet by 36 feet — but will be set 100 feet from the Thayers’ farmhouse.

The old barn was just 75 feet from the house. Firefighters saved the house by hosing the wood-framed home down quickly and repeatedly.

Friends quickly set up an account at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust and established an online site for contributions at the start of business the morning of the 2 a.m. fire.

The Thayers said many people — some who they had never seen before — came to the farm and pressed money into their hands, wishing them well.

For more of the latest news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.