I.
INTRODUCTION
1. Why save barns?II. AVAILABLE FUNDING
Information about Available FundingIII. HISTORIC INFORMATION
1. Why is knowing the history of my barn important?IV. MAINTENANCE & REPAIRS
1. Six Basic Steps to Preserve your BarnV. ADAPTIVE REUSE
1. We have an old barn on our property and would like to put it to use. Do
you have any good reuse ideas that would bring in some income?2. Our modern farming machinery will no longer fit into our 100 year old
barn, so we are considering tearing it down. Do you have any advice on
how to save this barn?VI. WHAT IS THE BARN TASK FORCE?
Information about the Barn Task Force
____________________________________________________________________
I. 1. Why save barns?
1. Why are barns important? Barns and agricultural buildings help tell the state’s story over the
last several hundred years. From carriage barns in city or town centers to dairy barns, to
tobacco barns in the Pioneer Valley, to the cranberry screen houses in the east, they help
us read the landscape and connect us to the life and work of our families through the generations.Most barns, especially those of timber frame construction, are well-built and have open
floor plans that make them useful today for farming or for a wide variety of new uses. Yet,
barns are disappearing at a rapid rate from the landscape. With some planning, patience,
and creativity, older and historic barns can continue to serve their original function or be
put back to use.II. Available Funding
Very little grant funding is currently available for privately-owned barns in Massachusetts.
However, if the barn is, or will be used for agricultural purposes, there may be programs
through the USDA Rural Development Office. See www.rurdev.usda.gov for more information.The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture might be able to provide some guidance. Visit www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown for more information.
There is generally more funding available for buildings owned by a non-profit or public agency. Options include:
Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund: Provides funding for the acquisition, preservation, and rehabilitation of historic properties, landscapes, and sites.
* Eligible properties must be listed in or eligible for listing in the State Register of Historic Places* Eligible projects must be under municipal or private non-profit ownership.
* Predevelopment projects such as feasibility studies, plans and specification, and historic structures reports are also eligible activities.
* This is a 50% reimbursable matching grant program.
More information is available by contacting the Massachusetts Historic Commission at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcmppf/mppfidx.htm.Community Preservation Act (CPA)
FundsIf your town has adopted the CPA, check with your local Community Preservation Committee
about applying for funding. For more information on the CPA,
visit www.communitypreservation.org
If you are in Essex County, you may be eligible for the Essex National Heritage Commission Partnership Grant Program: Provides seed money to organizations for heritage education, preservation, interpretation, archives and trails projects.More information is available by contacting the Essex National Heritage Area at http://www.essexheritage.org/partnershipgrant/.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust’s has a variety of grant and loan programs. The grants are primarily for
planning and education purposes only. Please see the website for more information.1772 Foundation
This foundation’s mission is to preserve and enhance American historical entities for future
generations to enjoy with particular interest in farming, industrial development, transportation
and unusual historical buildings.
III.1 Why is knowing the history of my barn important?
Knowledge about when a barn was built and how it evolved will help guide and inform any
work that is done to it. The character of any building depends partly on its age. A building's
features and characteristics make it what it is; and will thus be important to keep? Features that
represent later alterations may be less importance, or in some cases may have taken on a
significance of their own. But either way, they provide the physical history of when changes were
made to the barn, and may give clues as to why and by whom.
III.2 How do I find out the age of my barn?
Most of the information may be contained in the building itself. Since building techniques and
materials changed over time, and many outbuildings were enlarged at least once, barns can often be “read” by looking carefully at their construction. For instance, while timber-frame (post-and-beam) construction continued longer in barns than in houses, “scribe-rule” framing (with individually fitted
joints) was replaced by “square-rule” framing with interchangeable joints after 1830 in most
areas of New England. At around the same time the New England barn, with lengthwise aisles and
the wagon entry in the gable end, began to replace the English barn plan, which had the large wagon
doors in the long sides. Some of the resources listed below give good explanations and illustrations
of the evolution of barn design and construction.Local knowledge and documents such as town histories, tax records, and Mass. Historical
Commission historic properties survey forms that have been prepared under the guidance of
the local historical commission may also contain information about when a barn was built or
enlarged. Additional clues are often provided by historic maps, old newspaper articles, and oral histories.III.3 I have been told my barn might be eligible for the National Register of Historic
Places - What does that mean?
For a privately-owned barn that is not used for commercial purposes, listing on the National
Register is an official recognition of the building’s importance in architecture and/or history,
As a rule, however, it does not make it eligible for any public funding, and would not place any
restrictions on what can be done with or to the building. Barns that are owned by municipalities
or non-profit organizations, however, may qualify for grants, when available, from some funding
programs such as the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund administered by MHC and
Community Preservation Funding in communities which have adopted the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act. Owners of barns used for rental or other income producing purposes that undergo substantial rehabilitation may be eligible for a 20% federal tax credit on the cost of a certified
rehabilitation. Contact the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) at 617-727-8470 or visit
www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcidx.htm for details.III.4 Where can I go for more information?
Books:
Garvin, James L. A Building History of Northern New England. Hanover and London:
University Press of New England, 2001.Hubka, Thomas C. Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn: The Connected Farm
Buildings of New England. Hanover and London: University Press of New England, 1984.Parsons, Bonnie. Barns in the Highland Communities. Haydenville, MA:
The Trustees of Reservations: the Highland Communities Initiative, 2007.
Sobon, Jack A. Historic American Timber Joinery: A Graphic Guide. Becket, MA:
Timber Framers Guild, 2002.Visser, Thomas Durant. Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings.
Hanover and London: University Press of New England, 1997.Organizations and Web Resources:
American Farmland Trust
http://www.farmland.org: Provides an online library, research, technical and policy assistance
for saving family farms and farmland.
Barn Again!www.barnagain.org or http://www.agriculture.com/barnagain/index.html: Barn Again! is a national
program that provides information to help owners of historic barns rehabilitate them and put them
back to productive use on farms and ranches. The program provides technical assistance through
a BARN AGAIN! hotline, publishes rehabilitation guides, sponsors workshops, exhibits and other
events, offers a barn rehabilitation checklist, and presents annual awards for the best examples of
historic barns rehabilitated for continued farming use. BARN AGAIN! is sponsored by the
National Trust for Historic Preservation and Successful Farming magazine.Barn Journal
http://www.thebarnjournal.org/: The Barn Journal is dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of tradition farm architecture. The website features stories, organizations, people, resources, and events.
Conserving the Family Farm
Conserving the Family Farm: A manual using plain language on conservation easements and agricultural provisions, produced by the NH Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture and UNH Cooperative
Extension, (603) 679-5616.Dutch Barn Preservation Society
http://www.schist.org/dbps.htm: A membership organization dedicated to the study and
preservation of New World Dutch Barns. The Dutch Barn Preservation Society offers a small
grant program as well as a newsletter.Historic Homeworks
This website offers practical help on a wide range of repair and maintenance techniques for historic
and older buildings. There is also a series of web-based seminars and an excellent series of
reasonably-priced “how-to” books.National Park Service, Technical Preservation Services
Preservation Brief Series www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/presbhom.htm
Especially recommended: Michael J. Auer, Preservation Brief 20: “The Preservation
of Historic Barns”National Trust for Historic Preservation
Especially recommended: “Historic Barns: Working Assets for Sustainable Farms”, available for downloading at www.nationaltrust.org/rural_heritage/BarnsBrochure.pdf
Preservation Massachusetts
45 School Street, Boston, MA 02108
www.preservemassbarns.org
Consultants Directory: www.preservationmass.org, elsafitzgerald@aol.com
Supplemental Websites and Readings: click on Historic Districts/Historic Commissions www.preservationmass.org
Preserving Old Barns: Preventing the Loss of a Valuable Resource
Preserving Old Barns: Preventing the Loss of a Valuable Resource, by John C. Porter and
Francis E. Gilman. Available through UNH Cooperative Extension and NH Division of Historical
Resources. Go to: http://ceinfo.unh.edu/agpubs.htm for an order form.Timber Framers Guild of North America
www.tfguild.org
P.O. Box 60, Becket, MA 01223
US Department of Agriculture: Rural and Community Development
Information from the US Department of Agriculture including farm loan programs, and occasional grants related to barn preservation.
University of Vermont
Historic Preservation Program
“Taking Care of Your Old Barn” by Thomas Visser
www.uvm.edu/~vhnet/hpres/publ/barnb/bbtit.html
IV.1
Six Basic Steps to Preserve your Barn The barn was the epicenter of the farm economy. Without it, the family's survival
came into question.1. Documentation - Know what you have.
A. Photo-documentation of Existing Conditions (cost estimates)
B. Oral and Written History
2. Stabilization - You can do something now.
A. Give yourself time to plan
B. Give the right craftsperson the time to get there
3. Rigging - Prepare for repair.
A. Being safe
B. Being careful and thorough (know when to stop)
4. Repair - Be kind in kind
A. Traditional timber frame repair joinery
B. Foundation repairs
C. Roof repairs
5. Finishing - The show: A balancing act
A. Historical Integrity
B. Practicality
C. Adaptive Re-use
6. Maintenance - The future - Your legacy
A. The maintenance schedule
B. Insurance: Replacement policy/fire protection
C. Protection: Preservation easements
IV.2 Taking Stock: Barn Condition Assessments/Action Plans A. Personal History: Connecting with the barn; a physical representation of your
ancestors' life's work.1. Who built my barn?
2. When was my barn built?
3. Who farmed this land and what lived in my barn?
4. Family History/genealogy
5. Photographs and other documentsB. Physical History: An evolution of changes; growing farms and changing economies.
1. How is my barn build?
a. timber frame
1. Scribe rule
2. Square rule
b. stick frame
1. Balloon frame
2. Deck frame
2. How was my barn used?
a. Floor plan
b. Entry doors
c. LoftsC. Current Conditions:
1. Exterior grade
2. Trees, shrubs, and the road
3. Foundation
4. Frame
5. Exterior siding and trim
6. Roof
7. Physical changes and modifications to building
a. missing braces and hay tracksD. Measuring and Documenting Your Barn:
1. TTRAG short survey form
2. Relevant Photography
3. DrawingsE. Action Plans:
1. Analyzing your documentation
2. Prioritizing the preservation tasks
3. Initial stabilization
4. Phasing and completing the work
V.1
V.2We have an old barn on our property and would like to put it to use. Do
you have any good reuse ideas that would bring in some income?If your property is no longer in agricultural use, there are a number of reuses that
people have found for their barns, which maintain their integrity. Some barns are
being rented out to neighboring farms for additional equipment, crop or livestock
storage. But barns have also been fitted up to serve as meeting spaces, and as bed
and breakfast facilities. Barns are currently being used for wedding locations; they
are being rented out for personal storage space. People are using their barns to
serve as workshops, as teaching facilities, and office space for businesses. There
are barns that rent out boarding space for horses, and for summer riding stables.
The most frequent reuses of barns – and the most radical - are as stores, restaurants,
and homes. In all three cases, it takes special care to rehabilitate the barn so as
not to lose its interior volume or its character-defining features.To find out more about barns being reused we recommend two websites: www.thebarnjournal.org and www.agriculture.com. The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Barn Again! Program has an on-line bookstore available at the latter website, from which you may order publications on barn
care and reuse.A new publication on Sustainable Farming is available to download for free at
www.nationaltrust.org/rural_heritage/BarnsBrochure.pdf.Our modern farming machinery will no longer fit into our 100 year old
barn, so we are considering tearing it down. Do you have any advice on
how to save this barn?This is a common problem that farmers face. We would recommend that you get
a copy of a National Trust for Historic Preservation publication called, Using Old
Farm Buildings: adaptations for new agricultural uses. You can order it on line at
www.agriculture.com in the Barn Again! section of that site. Also, this website
and the one at www.thebarnjournal.org feature articles on altering trusses, changing
opening dimensions and floor levels that farmers have used successfully to adapt
older barns to modern agriculture. The economics of adaptation vs. construction
weigh heavily in favor of adaptation, so it is worth the time to research techniques.