Category Archives: barn education

Things will be warming up at our 2013 Winter Meeting!

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Preservation students from the University of Mary Washington at Weston Farm in Fauquier County, Virginia, where they documented several barns and outbuildings.

Preservation students from the University of Mary Washington examined several barns and outbuildings at Weston Farm in Fauquier County, Virginia.

As some of our members may already be aware, we are holding our Winter Board Meeting in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in partnership with the University of Mary Washington on February 15th-17th, 2013.  The focus of this year’s meeting, building mutually beneficial partnerships, could not be more timely given the economic climate!

Special guests at this year’s meeting include undergraduate and graduate students, many in Historic Preservation programs, who will present their work to research and document historic barns and farms in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Additional speakers, as well as a roundtable discussion, are planned to elaborate on selected successful partnerships in the barn preservation community.  The Board will also conduct work sessions to review our mission statement and action plan to ensure the NBA’s continued growth and relevance to the barn preservation movement at large.

We will be sure to provide additional information and updates on our efforts – so please stay tuned.  You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, and visit us anytime you want at www.barnalliance.org!

Timber Framers Guild Conference October 17-21

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Timber Framers Guild is holding their 2012 Eastern Conference in Leesburg, VA in the beautiful National Conference Center from October 17 until 21.

They have an amazing program organized with diverse workshops around timber framing. Such are the offerings:

– History of Timber Framing

– Timber Framing Design with StretchUp

– Fifty Shades of Green

– Timber Framing for Commercial Construction

There will be fun activities… music, fun, and axe throwing!

The Timber Framers Guild is a partner organization with the National Barn Alliance.

 

A Barn with Many Questions in the Saucon Valley

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This is a guest post by Jeff Marshall, NBA Vice  President.

The Saucon Valley Conservancy held its annual barn tour on September 15, 2012.  The Saucon alley is located in southeastern Pennsylvania including parts of Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties.  This year the focus of the barn tour was twentieth century barns where in the past, 18th and 19th century barns were featured.  The barns included several late versions of Pennsylvania barns as one would expect to see in this region and other examples of gambrel roof barns that are typically seen in other sections of the country.

According to information compiled by Greg Huber, this barn was designed by Bethlehem architect C. F. Spangenberg in the 1920s.

 

 

I know from basic research that there are distinct varieties of framing methods related to gambrel roof barns.  As someone who deals with older timber frame barns I am not that familiar with the distinctions.  Any help would be appreciated.

Both of the silos have stamped tiles that read “J. M. Preston Lansing Mich.” with a series of patent dates from 1910 through 1913.  A quick internet search came up with the information that the Preston Lansing Vitrified Tile Silos and Storage Bins had branch factories in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Iowa.  Any additional information about the company would be appreciated.

The barn has a number of metal ventilators.  I am familiar with common designs used by Louden and James, and I believe I have seen this type of filigree work on weathervanes on other ventilators, but cannot identify the company.

The farm also had another unusal structure for a Pennsylvania farm, a granary building with a transverse cupola which I believe was typically designed for a grain elevator.  The interior of the structure has bins with boards that have spaces between them such as we find on corn cribs in our region.  Any information on these types of buildings would also be appreciated.

If you have any information, please let me know. I can be contacted at JLMarshall1@comcast.net

 

Fall is a Perfect Time for a Drive to See Barns!

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Perfect time to enjoy the cooler weather, beautiful colors, and wonderful barns! Tours are being held all over the country from the fast-paced city of LA to laid-back Mackinac Island. Visit our events page to find a barn tour near you.

So grab your camera and go exploring the country roads!

The Heritage Barns of Indiana Project

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McFadden Farms Stagecoach Barn in Posey County.

The Heritage Barns of Indiana Project is an on-going painting project which focuses on our dwindling heritage of early Indiana barns. The artist, Gwen Gutwein, a Barn Alliance member and  owner of

Gwen painting the Normandy Barn at the Indiana State Fair Grounds in Marion County.

a fine art studio/gallery in Fort Wayne, started this huge and important project in 2004.  She is striving to do paintings of at least two old and/or historic barns from each of Indiana’s 92 counties.  Along with the paintings, Gwen collects the barn’s distinctive history.  To date, she has completed over 110 out of the expected goal of 184 paintings.

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art sponsored the traveling exhibit: First Fifty, Heritage Barns of Indiana.  They took Gwen’s first 50 completed paintings and their histories and put them on tour throughout Indiana.  The exhibit has cataloged over 168,000 viewers!  The painting tour is coming to a close this year after over three years of traveling.  The first fifty paintings will be available for purchase after the tour is completed.  The next group of 50 paintings will be available for exhibit soon.

Hippensteel Barn in DeKalb County.

Inspiration for the Barns of Indiana project sprang out of Gwen’s desire to focus attention on the beauty and demise of our barns.  The world zooms past the old barns, without a glance.  As the seasons pass into years the barns from earlier centuries quietly bow their heads, close their eyes and vanish.  Indiana has a treasure, our barns.  Venture into any old barn and you will be amazed at the building materials used, the unique designs and the quality of construction.  They reflect the diversity, ingenuity and integrity of our ancestors and are chocked full of rich history…a treasure to behold…an Indiana treasure.

Since 2008 Gwen has published a calendar with a barn painting featured on each month. The calendars also include each barn’s rich history.  The 2013

Amy & David Dance Barn in Lake County.

calendar is nearly complete with extensive information on a working hay press barn.  The calendars sell for $16.00.  Visit Gwen’s web site for details.