The Old Barn Book: A Field Guide to North American Barns & Other Farm Structures

by Allen G. Noble, Richard K. Cleek, M. Margaret Geib (Illustrator)

Barns give character to the countryside. Their structures reflect the ethnic heritage of a region's settlers and the nature of the land itself. With The Old Barn Book, you'll be able to spot the difference between a Dutch barn and a Swedish barn, a barn for cows and a barn for tobacco. You'll find out why some barns have hipped roofs and others gables, why some have doors at the end and others have them on the side, why some are wood and some are stone, why some are round. Whether you are nostalgic for farm life or like to drive out in the country or want to join in the barn preservation movement, you will find this book an indispensable guide.

Genres: History, Reference

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

Reviews

[Carl Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I love about Barre, Vermont--where I lived for almost 40 years is that amid the various "typical" New England styles there are a number of houses with flat roofs that slope gently to the center of the house to a drainage pipe meant to carry rain water down to the ground. Anybody who has lived through a north country winter or two can imagine the challenges that several feet of snow and ice would provide to that set up. And they'd be right--as I can attest to having spent a goodly number cold wintry hours on a friend's roof lending a hand. When folks arrived from northern Italy to work Barre's granite they built the houses they knew--they replicated the places they called home.

The reason I love it is that it's a reminder to me that we carry our culture between our ears, and that's how it should be.

And so it is with barns and outhouses. For those of us who like to look at history through the experiences of those who've gone before this handbook--it's collection of photos and drawings of barns and other outbuildings, with maps of where you're likely to find them, and brief explanations of their history and connections with the cultures of their builders--is fascinating and useful when doing historical explorations. Good stuff.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Normally, I love this kind of book! I would have loved to learn more about barns and other outbuildings in general from all over america- but the author seems to have tunnel vision. He uses absolutes (that this shape came from this country, for example) where I know as a student of archaology it's simply not true. He generalizes about things as if they were true of all structures all over the US, but really he doesn't COVER all of the US, it's mostly the east coast with a few mid-states in there. It was a very dissapointing book. The diagrams were not so useful, there weren't enough pictures or diagrams to demonstrate what he happily rambled on about in words, and much of it was inaccurate. I'll look to better books than this one, for my 'old building' fix.

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference book. And, if you've lived around farm country, you know it can be very interesting to see all of the different barns and other buildings on farms. This book really lets you find out more about why they are different and about the history of barns. And, my dad is the co-author. :)