STONE BARNS OF AMERICA
When I
began this project, while still working on my first two barn books, Historic
Barns of Ohio and Round Barns of America, I must admit the prospect
of writing about stone barns on a national basis intimidated me. Unlike in the
Ohio book, where I had merely to find an old barn in each of Ohio’s 88 counties,
and unlike the round barn book, where the Dale Travis website had them neatly separated
into states and counties, the stone barns were basically hidden. I had to
explore each state, one after another – using Google search, state historical
societies, state preservation offices. The project seemed daunting. Would I
ever finish? Would their stories measure up to those in Round Barns of
America?
But, slowly and surely, I found them, often forgotten, but sometimes listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The stories amazed me, ranging from tales of 17th- and 18th-century colonial America, through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and into the Gilded Age of the late 1800s. As a lover of the American West (As a kid, I was obsessed with watching the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Fess Parker, and any cowboy movie that came on our black and white TV), I was thrilled to find a stone barn built in Colorado by the cattle driver, whose life was the basis of the TV series, Lonesome Dove. Then there was the barn that an Oregon farmer built for one horse. Yes, a barn built of stone in Grant County in 1876 for one champion horse – with slits for rifles in case of an Indian attack.
I marveled at our early pioneers, the heroes and heroines, such as Abigail Rice, who despite having a dozen children, walked two miles from her farm to aid the injured soldiers in a hospital built in 1777 for Washington’s ragged troops while they wintered at Valley Forge. Unfortunately, Abigail contracted typhoid fever from one of the soldiers, though she continued her walks to the hospital and kept having children. She died in 1789. The epitaph on her tombstone reads: Some have children, some have none, here lies the mother of twenty-one.
Since it’s time consuming, which is limited in my case, I chose not to publicize each stone barn, its painting, and its essay on this site. Instead, they’ll be listed in my upcoming book, Stone Barns of America, which may be available by late 2025. Of the 90 barns, over a third are listed on the National Register and nine are associated with a national landmark.
But, slowly and surely, I found them, often forgotten, but sometimes listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The stories amazed me, ranging from tales of 17th- and 18th-century colonial America, through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and into the Gilded Age of the late 1800s. As a lover of the American West (As a kid, I was obsessed with watching the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Fess Parker, and any cowboy movie that came on our black and white TV), I was thrilled to find a stone barn built in Colorado by the cattle driver, whose life was the basis of the TV series, Lonesome Dove. Then there was the barn that an Oregon farmer built for one horse. Yes, a barn built of stone in Grant County in 1876 for one champion horse – with slits for rifles in case of an Indian attack.
I marveled at our early pioneers, the heroes and heroines, such as Abigail Rice, who despite having a dozen children, walked two miles from her farm to aid the injured soldiers in a hospital built in 1777 for Washington’s ragged troops while they wintered at Valley Forge. Unfortunately, Abigail contracted typhoid fever from one of the soldiers, though she continued her walks to the hospital and kept having children. She died in 1789. The epitaph on her tombstone reads: Some have children, some have none, here lies the mother of twenty-one.
Since it’s time consuming, which is limited in my case, I chose not to publicize each stone barn, its painting, and its essay on this site. Instead, they’ll be listed in my upcoming book, Stone Barns of America, which may be available by late 2025. Of the 90 barns, over a third are listed on the National Register and nine are associated with a national landmark.