State gears up for barn survey
Toolbox
BY SARA-MEGAN WALSH Herald Staff - Published: June 20, 2008
Residents statewide are volunteering to carefully search out Vermont's barns, in hopes of documenting and restoring them, before they fade out of living history.
The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation will host a series of workshops focusing on the history and architecture of barns Saturday at the Vermont History Expo at the Tunbridge World's Fair to train people for the upcoming Vermont Barn Census.
"It's a chance for people to get a lot of good background information about the history of barns in Vermont from our two most prominent experts," said Nancy Boone, deputy state historic preservation officer.
The workshop series begins at 11 a.m. with "Understanding the Structure of Historic Barns" by Jan Lewandoski, an internationally renowned timber framer from Greensboro Bend, and at 2 p.m., "The History and Architecture of Barns and other Agricultural Outbuildings" by Thomas D. Visser, director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at the University of Vermont. At 3 p.m. Boone will hold a session to teach people about the Vermont Barn Census.
"These workshops will teach people about why barns are built the way they are, the history of their architecture and what kind of information the Vermont Barn Census is trying to collect," Boone said. "You can tell a whole lot about how old a barn is and what it was probably used for by some of the clues of how it's located and how it sits in the landscape."
Boone said in the late 18th century through the 19th century, barns were single, isolated buildings. Architecture gradually progressed. Later in the 19th century, barns were built into hillsides to take advantage of gravity, according to Boone.
These workshops are to serve as a training program to the upcoming kickoff of the Vermont Barn Census on Aug. 2 and 3. The project aims to recruit volunteers throughout 251 towns to identify barns and other agricultural outbuildings to create the first statewide inventory of Vermont Barns as a foundation for further efforts to preserve them.
"What we're looking for is people who will go out that weekend and get all the field information, visit the barn, take notes and take pictures," Boone said. "I'm hoping we get well over 500 volunteers. If we get more than 1,000, I would be delighted."
Boone had no idea how many historic barns there are in Vermont, stating expert estimates range anywhere from 8,000 to 20,000.
The Vermont Barn Census asks residents to document their local historic barns during four to five specific weekends stretching into the spring and fall of 2009. Specific dates are not yet finalized. Findings will be submitted to an online database visible to the public. The model for this census is the "grass-roots" movement of the Mount Holly Barn Preservation Association.
"There's a lot to learn from their experience," Boone said. "They've really sort of pioneered those next steps from identifying what you have to taking some solid steps to preserve it on a community-wide basis."
Boone said grant money has been used to restore historic barns back to working condition. Restored barns may serve as a community center for theatrical production, dances or other activities.
Admission to the History Expo costs $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 5 to 18. Further information on the Expo is available at www.vermonthistory.org. Those interested in attending the workshops should register by sending an e-mail to histwininc@valley.net or calling 674-6752.
After the workshops, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., an open barn reception is planned for census volunteers and their guests at the Justin Morrill Homestead in Strafford.
"It's the kind of thing that when you start looking for the details and you know where to look for the clues, all of a sudden the story unfolds," Boone said.
Contact Sara-Megan Walsh at sara-megan.walsh@rutlandherald.com.
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