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© Karri Sandino
This typical midwest dairy barn in Wisconsin includes a second-story large hayloft and space below for livestock.
Do you look twice ...
... every time you pass a barn on the highway?
Barns have a way of capturing our attention (they're large!) and our imaginations (what's behind those wind-worn walls?)
Barn histories and styles are the focus of "Barns of America" by Audrey Pavia. |
Serious about barn preservation (or want to learn more)?
The National Barn Alliance can whet your barn preservation appetite.
- Does your state have a preservation program?
- Sign up for a free newsletter
- Learn how to establish documentation for an historic barn
- View a gallery of barns
- Link to national organizations that offer guidelines, like the National Register of Historic Places. They have a list of historic barn types and the following advice on it's website:
7 Barn Rehab Considerations
Keep these 7 points in mind before you jump into a barn preservation and/or rehabilitation project:
- Preserve the historic setting of the barn as much as possible.
- Repair and repaint historic siding rather than cover barns with artificial siding.
- Repair rather than replace historic windows whenever possible, and avoid "blocking them down" or covering them up.
- Avoid changing the size of door openings whenever possible.
- Consider a new exterior addition only if it is essential to the continued use of a historic barn.
- Retain interior spaces and features as much as possible.
- Retain as much of the historic internal structural system as possible.
Historic Barn Types
- Dutch Barns
- Bank Barns
- Crib Barns
- Round Barns
- Prairie Barns
- Others
- Finnish log barns
- "Threebay" English barns
- New England connected barn
- Upper midwest dairy barns
- Tobacco barns
- Hop-drying barns
- Rice barns
- "Kit" barns build to patterns
Source: National Park Service, Technical Preservation Services, Preservation Brief, The Preservation of Historic Barns
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