It was a beautiful summer day , dry than most July in the East . I was drive through easterly Pennsylvania on a business head trip , enjoying the open main road before me . As I passed through Town along the roadway , I noticed the scene was becoming more rural . It was n’t long before big , green surface area set on either side of the highway . Every few minutes , a magnificent barn would amount into view , uprise above the landscape painting and punctuating the sky with its gabled cap and gallant silo . The aura of these older barn was breathtaking , leave me to realize the power of this very American opus of architecture .
Throughout American history , farmers have build barns to shelter their stock and store their harvest . A great number of barn styles can be seen throughout the United States , each suited to the environs where it resides .
“ The purpose of a b , specially if it is very quondam , is ricochet with the weather requirements of the area and the fussy cultural traditions of the husbandman in the neighborhood , ” says Nancy W. Ambrosiano , co - author ofComplete Plans for Building Horse Barns Big & Small(Breakthrough Publishing , 2006 ) . “ A steeply seedy cap , for example , is relevant to part with considerable snowfall since the weight of snow can bring a barn down . Such peaks only captivate heat in the hotter , humid South , so while they ’ll still have a slope to shed rain and snow , more southerly barn bring variations for ventilation such as the airy ‘ admonisher ’ barns that ensure a breeze from floor to ceiling through the varan ’s vents . ”
American Farmer built their barns with not only practicality in mind , but also aesthetics . These barns were functional and their distinct smell leave a signified of individuality to the regional farmlands on which they stood . Certain barn styles have become synonymous with fussy part of the country ; in many cases they are considered historical reminders of the area ’s agricultural past tense .
1 . Bank BarnsThe Midwest is habitation to the savings bank barn , a orthogonal building with two level . Traditionally , the lower grade of the barn housed livestock and draft animals , while the upper storey provided storage and a threshing storey . Both areas can be put down from the ground .
So advert because the construction were locate against the side of a mound , bank barns , most of which were built in the 1800s , permitted farmers direct access to the computer memory arena with black Maria load with wheat or hay . When built in an area where a J. J. Hill was not present , a “ bank ” was make by build an earthen ramp .
The earliest bank barns have gabled ceiling , while later money box barns were built with gambrel roof ceiling . Bank barns were primarily manufacture with their axis parallel to the hill on the south side ; this allowed livestock to have a sunny spot to gather in the wintertime . To take advantage of this security , the second tale is extend over the first ; the overhang shelter animals from harsh weather condition .
In certain areas of Wisconsin , where glaciers once move during the Ice Age , bank barns were construct with fieldstone . In non - glaciated field of the United States Department of State , primarily southwestern Wisconsin , the barn walls were made of quarried rock . In other area of the rural area , depository financial institution barns were build from wood .
2 . pear-shaped and Polygonal BarnsRound or polygonal barn , first progress by the Shakers in the 1800s , are the rarest of barn types in term of numbers and are scattered from New England to the Midwest . Although constructed in the early 19th century , these barn became popular during the 1880s when experiment stations and agricultural colleges taught progressive farming method acting based on their great efficiency .
rotund b were encouraged for many reasons : circle have majuscule loudness - to - surface proportion than other barn forms ( square or rectangular ) , therefore they use less materials and redeem on toll . Also , they offer great structural stability because they are make with self - support roofs , which also opens huge storage blank space . The circular layout was viewed as more effective — a call that was overstated , demonstrate in the lack of orotund barn today .
In the final point of around - barn development , a center silo was added , let gravity to move feed from the barn ’s top tier to the flooring . Made from Ellen Price Wood or occasionally brick , round and polygonal barns typically housed cattle on the ground level and hay in the pigeon loft above .
3 . Tobacco BarnsSeen throughout the South and East , tobacco barns serve a unique function when first rear nearly four centuries ago . Their role was to provide a place for tobacco plant farmer to hang and dry out their crop after harvest .
These b are to a great extent ventilated because air flow was needed to cure the hanging baccy leaves . Multiple outlet are distinctive of tobacco barns , which can be seen in different fashion depending on the type of tobacco plant , the prison term full point when baccy became a crop in the area and local construction style , such as conventional tobacco barns that have long , perpendicular doors that open along the side . They are made from oak tree , poplar or other regional woodland .
4 . English BarnsOne of the first b styles built in the land , English barns were a simple-minded and popular pattern in New England during Colonial times , particularly in Vermont .
evocative of barns in England , the English b is usually small and orthogonal in shape with an A - frame roof . These barns were traditionally made from wood , are not usually more than 30×40 feet in size of it and have hinge beach wagon door . The barn was usually site on level ground with no basement and unpainted , erect dining table on the wall .
The inside of the English b has a middle aisle and threshing base . Livestock were kept on one side of the barn while provender was stored on the other .
5 . Dutch BarnsDutch barns are among the honest-to-god and rarest American barns and are cognise for their broad , gabled roofs , corner stock doors , clapboarding and centre wagon door .
Popular in New York and New Jersey in the 1700s , these barns have a typical , enthalpy - shaped bodily structure , which provided a fixed core to support the across-the-board , gabled roof and walls . They boast a spacious center gangway with a board level for unloading wagons and for cereal threshing .
The Dutch - stylus half threshold were situated to admit prevailing winds to disperse straw when threshing on the barn floor . A pent cap ( or pentice ) over the center doors gave tribute from the component . Flanking animal door at the corners and jam near the roof to admit swallows and martins are typical Dutch barn component . The side aisles were used to put up Bos taurus and draft animals , as well as to store feed and hay .
Unlike most other barns , the internal structure of the Dutch barn is relatively protect from the elements and can often survive exterior decay .
6 . Crib BarnsCommon in the South , pony barn are most often see in the mountainous area of North Carolina , Virginia , Kentucky , Tennessee and Arkansas . The name of this b comes from the one to six cribs built inside the body structure for store or for housing stock . Smaller crib barns were used exclusively for feed storage .
Crib barns were build in the main in the 1800s and were most often made from unchinked logs on occasion covered with forest siding and woods - shingle , gabled roof . Crib barns with roof that were later put back can be regard with tin or mineral pitch screening . “ Double - trot ” barns feature a 2d - story loft ; they were the simple barn to build for their sizing and stability .
Similar to wienerwurst - trot house , the double - crib b , commonly discover in Appalachia , consists of two crib separated by a breezeway and enshroud by a single cap . The door could either face front or toward the breezeway . The first account was used for stabling with the breezeway , unremarkably used for food grain threshing . The 2nd story pigeon loft was used for hay and grain storehouse .
7 . Prairie BarnsOne of the most common barn in the American landscape painting , prairie barn ( also called Western barns , one of which is pictured above ) , were the barn of choice for farmers in the West and Southwest because large livestock herd required great storage outer space for hay and grain .
These large , wooden barns provided plenty of memory board space for feed and could domiciliate livestock if necessary . tenacious roof that often reach intimately to the ground created copious space ; these barn were built throughout the 1800s as agriculture spread westwards . The prairie barn is similar to the Dutch barn with regards to the long , low rooflines and the internal placement of beast enclosures on either side of a key , open space .
