It’s an old barn like any other in the Manteca and surrounding areas, or even in the San Joaquin Valley.
But this rustic and iconic structure located on East Highway 120 just west of Jack Tone Road is different than all the rest for a couple of reasons – maybe even three. For several months during the year, motorists probably won’t even give it a perfunctory glance because it looks quite ordinary – just a barn standing against the backdrop of an almond orchard. There’s many like it in the immediate vicinity, after all.
Ah, but unlike those others, this circa 1940s structure comes alive at least twice a year – in spring and in the fall. That’s when the barn turns into Sue’s Country Barn, and avid “hunters” descend upon this small slice of bucolic life in the valley to snatch up treasures they can’t live without.
The “finds” range from antique furniture and, sometimes, old farming tools to books that date back all the way from the 1700s to the early and mid-1900s plus every imaginable collectible in between.
The spring event takes place around Easter, with the one in the fall taking place sometime in October. Check the classifieds of the Manteca Bulletin around those times for specific dates which usually last for two weeks.
Outside of those twice-a-year happenings at this otherwise quiet barn is a historical footnote, both in agriculture and life in these parts of the valley. That bit of history is an old farming equipment that came with the 40-acre property when it was purchased in the 1980s by retired Manteca dentist Joseph Giulian and his wife Sue. The “ancient-looking” piece of machinery was no longer functional when they took ownership of the orchard, but they decided to keep it next to the barn because of its history.
The Giulians bought the property from the Miller family who homesteaded the original 160 acres and built the barn. Later, the Giulians learned that the Millers invented the first almond-hulling machine in the area. That invention is the old farming equipment that sat on the side of the barn. It was also the same machine that the Millers used in harvesting their almonds. Prior to that, the Millers harvested and processed their almonds by hand, as the rest of the almond farmers in the area did during that time.
Those who stopped by Sue’s Country Barn during the years Sue Giulian operated a fresh produce stand at this site were fortunate to have had a first-hand visual treat of the old farming equipment. The Giulians later donated the almond-harvesting machine to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Before the Giulians purchased the orchard, the Millers owned 80 acres of the original 160 homesteaded acres. The Millers sold 40 acres to the neighbors with the half being sold to the Giulians.
Sue’s Country Barn is located at 12607 E. Highway 120 about 2 miles east of Highway 99. For more information about the twice-a-year sales, call 209.607.6013.
