The Historic Barns of the USA

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Types of Barns

Barns are as different, as the many farms that one can visit. Many different types of barns have names, like cabana, gambrel, or saltbox. Some of the more traditional styles have names, based on the types of building. Finding painted barns is easy, but there are just as many unpainted barns.

Crib Barns

The crib barns can be a variation, of one to six cribs, serving as storage, for the animals. They may, or may not, have a loft for the feed. Typically, farmers would build the barns of logs, with wooden shingled roofs. Later, wooden roofs were out of favor, and tin or asphalt roofs were the replacement.

English Barn

If a barn has three bays, characterized by space between the beams, or pillars they are English Barns. The outer bays on one side were used for farm animals and feed or hay on the opposite side. The middle bay area doubled as a threshing floor, or it housed the wagon. There were usually two doors across from each other in the middle of the wall. The door allowed the wind, to winnow the wheat from the chaff and was easy to drive the wagon straight through.

Pennsylvania Bank Barn

Barns built on the south side of a hill are Pennsylvania bank barns. On the first floor, the animals are sheltered with easy entrance to the outside yard. The upper level floor, which is also the main floor, was typically the same height as the hill. This allowed the wagons an open area to drive through the threshing floor and haymow. Many of these barns had narrow slits, used as windows, made especially for ventilation.

Round Barn

The Shakers built barns during the 1800s called round barns. These barns had a silo in the middle, and on either side were the livestock. This made it easier for feeding the cattle because the hay was close by. At one time, everyone wanted these progressive and scientific barns.

Dutch Barns

The most decorative barns had lights and weather vanes. The Dutch Barns had fancy cupolas. For farmers with barns, facing the road, they could count on offers of a free paint job if they allowed businesses to advertise on the side of these barns which often also had fancy arches, peaks, or gingerbread.

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