A barn is basically an outdoor building, which is used for housing livestock such as horses and cattle and for storing fodder and other farm-related equipment. Farmers in America built their barns not just for practicality purposes but also for aesthetic reasons. They ensured that the barns were designed in a way that would reflect the identity of the regional farmlands on which they were constructed. Different parts of America have different types of barns.
Some Of The Classic American Barns Seen In A Country Even Today.
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| American Barns |
Bank Barns
A bank barn is a rectangular-shaped building consisting of two levels. The lower level is used for housing livestock and cattle while the upper level is used for storing fodder. These type of American barns are usually found in the Midwest. Both the levels are entered from the ground floor. These bank barns are made of different materials such as wood, fieldstones, quarried rocks, and other materials. Most of the early bank barns were built during the 1800s.
Dutch Barns
Known for their corner stock doors, broad, gabled roofs, clapboarding, and center wagon doors, the Dutch barns are one of the oldest and the rarest type of American barns. These barns made an appearance during the 1700s and are famous in New York and New Jersey. These barns are usually H-shaped so that they can provide adequate support to the gabled roof and walls. The Dutch barns are known for their simplicity in terms of functionality.
Crib Barns
The crib barns are a type of American Barn which is commonly found in North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia, especially in the mountainous areas. These barns are named as crib barns because of the various cribs which are built inside the barn to house livestock and store feed. Built during the 1800s, these barns were usually made using un-chinked logs and wood-shingled, gabled roofs. Some of these crib barns also featured ‘double-crib’ which meant that the barns were two-story structure.
Round Barns
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| American Barns |
Built during the 1800s, the round or polygonal barns are one of the more rare types of American barns. They can be seen spread from New England to the Midwest. These round barns had a number of advantages such as it required lesser materials than the other type of barns during construction, it was more cost-effective, had better structural stability, huge storage space, and so on. They usually housed livestock and used the loft for storing hay. Wood or bricks were the preferred construction materials.
Prairie Barns
Among all the American barns, the prairie barn is the most common type of barn. They are also known as Western barns and are often preferred because large livestock requires more storage space for hay and feed. Farmers in the West and Southwest usually prefer this type of barn. In terms of rooflines and internal spacing, the prairie barns are similar to the Dutch barns. The prairie barns were introduced during the 1800s. They usually have long roofs which almost reach the ground.
The American barns are an integral part of the American architecture and are often a breathtaking sight when you come across them. All these different types of barns were constructed keeping in mind the weather conditions of the respective area and the various traditions followed by the farmers of that particular region. These American barns serve as a historical reminder of the region’s agricultural past and are one of the best sources for understanding the architecture of that era and lifestyle of the farmers. These barns are not just a storage structure for livestock and feed, but a testimony to America’s agricultural history.
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