American Barns and Their Uses

More and more American style barns are cropping up all over the country - and for good reason! Great to look at and easy to maintain, they have a very interesting history, obviously originating over the in the states.

The classic American style barn that we all know so well is called the Prairie Barn. These large barns were originally built to store large quantities of hay and other farming materials, catering for the ever growing cattle population in America in the early 19th century. Prairie Barns share many of the features that can be found in Dutch Barns that were used by many of the first settlers in America.

The Prairie Barn is often painted red and white for a number of reasons. Many farmers would add rust to their linseed oil wood sealant mixture to prevent moss and fungi from growing on their barns. Also, around the time that these barns first become popular additions to larger farms, red paint was the cheapest available at the time and set a trend that is still at large today.

The Bank barn, which is similar but more rectangular, is another common sight on American farms. Its two level design allows cattle and livestock to be housed on the lower level with large storage capacity on the upper level. These were popular on smaller livestock farms where a hill or mount was present. When no geographical hill or mound was available, many farmers built the bank itself for the purpose of making a bank barn.

Crib barns have traditionally featured on smaller farms where storage capacity was needed to cohabitate with livestock. These smaller barns allow a living quarter for up to six animals - usually horses - while the upper levels are used for the storage of food or other farm materials. Many farmers convert these into stables as they’re quite similar.

Many of these different barn types are cropping up all over the country and with so many different uses for them, you can see why. With huge storage capacity sited on a relatively small area footprint, the Prairie barn is a great addition to any farm. It offers farmers an excellent space for a work house that doubles up as storage throughout the year, making it both an icon of American farming history and an efficient working building that has stood the test of time.