"We seek to provide national leadership for the preservation of America's historic barns and rural heritage through education, documentation, conservation, and networking."
Join us in working to preserve America's historic barns & rural heritage today!
Join the National Barn Alliance
Help Protect America’s Disappearing Rural Heritage!
Are you working to save a barn that symbolizes your town’s agricultural history?
You are not alone!
Across America, hundreds of individuals, families, towns, working farms and historical societies have declared that their barns will continue to be part of the visual landscape, as useful farm structures or beginning new lives as educational and community resources.
Barn Stories
Learn the Stories Behind the Buildings
A barn is more than wood and nails. It is the history behind the construction; the experiences of the family that owned it; the traditions that surround these physical pieces of the agricultural landscape. Below you will find first-hand accounts of barn owners as well as films and in-depth articles. We invite you to learn and enjoy.
Barn Stories: Reminiscences and Anecdotes
Take a moment to enjoy these stories shared by readers on thebarnjournal.org. Each piece reflects on the writer’s memories and experiences with barns.
“Building the Dutch Barn” Film
“Building the Dutch Barn” is an educational short film about raising the quarter-scaled Dutch barn frame as part of the Teamwork & Timbers Program. Read an exclusive interview done with director, Brandt Bolding.
Featured Barns: In-depth articles
Learn more about these significant barns that have been highlight on thebarnjournal.org. Take a closer look at why these pieces of our history are so treasured.
Round Barns
Enjoy a look at this unique and interesting barn type on thebarnjournal.org. In addition to articles about round barns, a list of resources for further round barn research is included.
For a detailed look at the history and architecture of individual round barns across the country, be sure to check out the Facebook page: Round Barns of America.
Mail Pouch Barns
Curious about the number of old “Mail Pouch” barns in your neck of the woods? The Mail Pouch Barnstormers’ “mission is to document, photograph and assign an official number to each Mail Pouch Structure known to exist, past or present.” Learn more about these barns and legendary barn sign painters like Harley Warrick in this article from Jeff Sherry at the Hagan History Center in Erie, PA.
Rock City Barns
Like the Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company, producers of Mail Pouch Tobacco, an advertisement urging travellers to “See Rock City” marked many barns throughout the southeast and beyond. “The brainchild of Rock City founder Garnet Carter, the famous See Rock City barns began appearing along American highways in 1935,” some of which remain standing today. Check out Rock City’s Barn History website and their barns map to find a Rock City barn new you!
Learn about Barns
Barn Preservation Education for
Owners, Scholars, and Enthusiasts
Why Preserve Barns?
Barns are the story of America; from pioneer times to our modern rural landscape. It is a long, interesting, and important story. The barns of America have stood as witnesses and guardians of our collective history. From tiny log pens cut into wildness to ornate castles in the middle of vast fields, they tell the story of hard work: they tell stories of dedication, tradition, aspiration, and creativity. It is our nation’s story told in wood, brick, and stone. Barn preservation is keeping this one-of-a-kind story alive for all to see, touch, and experience.
What is Barn Preservation?
Barn preservation is the act of saving the most iconic building—often called the heart—of every American farm. Every year, we lose more and more of our iconic barns to development, decay, and abandonment. Unfortunately, there are very few grants to aid in the physical repair of privately owned barns in our country. Therefore, those lucky barns that are being preserved are often saved by individual property owners at no small expense.
We at the NBA are thankful for the many ways in which Americans today are looking to preserve our rural heritage and save our barns!
