Barn: Form and Function of an American Icon

When you read all about its extensive history, shifting architecture, and rich cultural background, you’ll never look at a barn the same way again!

Strong-timbered barns are icons of American agriculture, harboring multilayered stories from their floors to their rafters.Barn reveals the compelling history of barns from colonial times, examining how immigrants adapted traditional designs from their home countries to the American landscape. It guides the reader on a tour of different kinds of barns, showing how construction materials, cultural influences, function, and style have given rise to their extraordinary variety. The reader will also learn about barn preservation, barns in pop culture and mythology, elements of barn style, and barn construction.

Barn is filled with fascinating facts about barns:

How did barns change with westward expansion?

Why are barns red?

What effect did immigration have on styles of barns in America?

How did barn architecture change according to geography?

What elements of style emerged on barns?

Barn idioms abound (e.g., He can’t hit the broad side of a barn door!); Where did they come from?

What is a "poetry barn"?

. . . and much more!

A comprehensive treatment of barns in the American landscape, this book is rich with fascinating details and beautiful photography. Swing open those big barn doors, and find out why barns continue to embody the heart of the American farm.