Barns – Backyard Architecture

As you ramble around the country back roads where you live, it's difficult to not see a structure often overlooked for its usefulness and beauty, a barn. They come in all styles, shapes, colors and ages. I know many of you know about the National Registry of Houses but did you also know there's a National Registry of Barns. Yes, certain barn styles and within certain range of years can be placed on the National Registry of Barns.

Many of the barn styles are based on ethnic cultures and as people came to America from England and Europe, they brought with them the style barn they had back in their old homeland. These various styles started popping up in America wherever they settled. The styles shifted somewhat based on where they settled and the climate of the region.

If you go up North to Wisconsin, Vermont, New York, etc., the house, the storage sheds and the barn are often connected. That way the farmer could leave the warmth of his kitchen and go to a shed or to the barn without going outside in the deep winter snow. Since the winters in East Tennessee where I live aren't that long nor usually that cold and quite often with minimal snow this building practice is not required.

There are Seven Classic American Barn Styles.

1. Bank Barns, usually found in the mid-west and are called this for they were multi-storied and somewhat resembled a large office or bank building.
2. Round and Polygonal Barns, built by the Shakers in the 1800s
3. Tobacco Barns, found in the South and East used for hanging the tobacco leaves to cure as tobacco was a money crop.
4. English Barns, one of the first style built and were usually smaller and rectangular in shape.
5. Dutch Barns, which are among the oldest and rarest and were known for their gabled roof style.
6. Crib Barn, which was made from unchinked logs and was actually two barns under one roof with a breeze through in between. Commonly found in the South.
7. Prairie Barn, built large to hold large herds of livestock with roofs almost touching the ground.

East Tennessee is well known for the Crib Barn and another barn that was often used, known as a Cantilever Barn. It was unique because the barn was designed so that each side had an overhang which was used to pull a wagon loaded with corn or hay under so that it would be out of the weather in case of rain or snow. It also had a breezeway center section that could be used for the same purpose or to get the loaded wagon by the doors of the cribs on either side.

The Cantilever Barns are not as plentiful now days but some can still be found in and around the Sevier County area, and in Cades Cove of the Smoky Mountain National Park. While traveling around the United States and other countries, I have never seen a Cantilever Barn anywhere but in the Appalachian Region.

 

Cades Cove – Double Crib  

            Cades Cove –               Cantilever Barn

 Throughout the Seymour area you can find lots of barns. Just like houses, each one has its own story to tell if it could talk. Many barns outlive the farm houses and the house was the premier focus of the property. While farm houses come and go, the barn was usually the cornerstone of the place, never changing much over the years. Some were painted and some not. Over the years they become faded, run down and mostly forgotten. However, they had a major place in our area which is and was mostly farm land where a good barn housed some of the animals, their feed and some of the family's food also.

Many of the barns are still much in use while some are being slowly retired. It seems a pity to see these majestic buildings slowly waste away but it takes money to keep them repaired and often it is cheaper to build a more modern metal structure than wooden buildings.

 

 

Whether Summer, Fall or Winter, that old barn just keeps standing, waging a war against time and its slow demise. Though it may not have a new shiny coat of paint, it still has a place in the history of our country.

Whether large like the barn above or small like the red barn used for horses, each has a place and a use during its lifetime. They may not be as respected as the farm house, their interior may not be as elegant as the main house, but their usefulness is just as important and in some cases, even more important.

All of these barns are located in the area of Tennessee where I live except the first two in the article which are located in Cades Cove. When taking a leisure drive around the back roads slow down and check out the various barns and out buildings that you see there.  Take a little time to look into the backyard (or in some cases across the road from the house) and give these pieces of Americana a sincere look. Without them, many families would not be here today or would not have grown and prospered. The Barn is truly a building to appreciate.