When a Barn Dies | Chickens in the Road

Jun
2

This is one of my favorite old barns in the area. It’s a few miles from our farm, and I’ve photographed it many times so it may seem familiar to some of you.

It passed away this week.

More posts you might enjoy:

25 Responses
RSS feed for comments on this post | TrackBack this post

6-2
1:08
am

There are barns like that here! You wonder for years how it’s still standing in its tilted, slanted way and then you come upon it one day and it’s collapsed into a heap. I’ve often wondered what finally killed it because it sure looked like it was barely standing twenty years ago!!

scollard

Flag this comment
6-2
1:12
am

I like many others love old barns! Sad to see it gone!
~~HUGS~~
http://blessingtheelements-mi.blogspot.com

Blessings

Flag this comment
6-2
1:45
am

Every time I go back home to Ohio I see some of the old barns slanting just a little more. It’s sad because most will not be replaced…the ones that are replaced will be with a characterless metal ugly thing!

Miss Judy

Flag this comment
6-2
4:36
am

Oh precious little barn….
SO sad..I love old barns and buildings.
Granny Trace
http://www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

Granny Trace

Flag this comment
6-2
5:52
am

I hate to see the great old barns in this area falling into ruin. We’re lucky to have a neat old barn that is still standing and will soon be sporting a new quilt square (as soon as we get it hung up :-)

twiggityNDgoats

Flag this comment
6-2
6:21
am

It’s sad to see an old barn go. But I love that little path to the right!

DB

Flag this comment
6-2
7:00
am

It sure is sad to see it fallen… will they let you go in and see what lumber you can rescue from it? Chances are they’re either going to let it rot on the ground or else burn it for the he!! of it.

I understand why people don’t want others tearing down old buildings due to the danger of it collapsing on them and people getting hurt, but now that it’s down, there may be some good beams and boards in there that you can use for your barn! Maybe if you explain about your pallet project, they’ll let you scavenge what you can from it.

We have a local business here that tears old barns and other buildings down but they are heavily insured and get contracts which absolve the landowner from responsibility for personal injury etc. Old barn owner gets some cash, salvagers get old growth lumber to resell. Win-win!

Those old beams can last a long long time due to the close grain of the wood. Of course the salvage company has the equipment to plane off the outer layers of some of it, still seems worth a look-see.

BuckeyeGirl

Flag this comment
6-2
7:06
am

I love old barns, too. Think of all the good stories that could be told about the animals and people who used that most important structure. But, sadly, those stories will never be written. Wishing you could tell us the story of this one, Suzanne.

4jsMOM

Flag this comment
6-2
7:29
am

That’s so sad. There was an old barn like that up the road from here. Seems like every day it would cave in a little bit more. Til finally I was driving by and noticed something looked different. The barn had caved all the way and it was down like yours. So sad to see. I love barns. I would live in a barn if there weren’t for snakes and mice and spiders and all that creepy stuff. I do hang out in ours for awhile. Then start thinking about snakes and mice and spiders. Then have to leave.

outbackfarm

Flag this comment
6-2
7:35
am

Slanted little barn
full of grace and old time charm
dies a lonely death

Spiderjohn

Flag this comment
6-2
8:06
am

So sad when that happens. There are a few in my area that have managed to hold on through the high winds we’ve had lately but I don’t know how long they’ll be able to.

ConnieH

Flag this comment
6-2
8:37
am

Too many old, character-filled barns. Too little time keep them up.

kj

Flag this comment
6-2
10:22
am

Thats really sad Suzanne, we have two next door to our property that belong to my DH’s brother and they are coming down also just because he overloaded them with recycled wood years ago and the last big snow almost took one on the West side. I hate to see them go.

holstein woman

Flag this comment
6-2
10:55
am

So sad, Have you been having alot of wind too? I keep waiting to wake up and see the one across the field like that some morning. :(

cabynfevr

Flag this comment
6-2
11:11
am

Awah. We have old abandoned homesteads all around us, complete with overgrown orchards, toppling barns and caved in root cellars. We were just reading up on our local history and all the original farmsteaders that settled in our area. All their hopes and dreams for the place, and now everything’s abandoned and dilapidated. It’s sad, but I’m hopeful that our growing family will someday bring the area back with our love for living on the land. It’s the circle of life!

Blessings,
Mary
http://lundkids.blogspot.com

MaryMooCow

Flag this comment
6-2
12:04
pm

Old homesteads are great places to look for heirloom plants. Old roses, odd apple trees, gooseberry bushes, etc. So many of the heirloom vegetables you see were rescued from deserted homesteads.

But be careful with harvesting the wood or plant hunting. Old buildings also have lots of snakes. There was a local story about an old house with a cellar full of a rather rare snake. They did a rescue to move them to a new habitat since they were tearing up the house and digging up the cellar to move the road.

joykenn

Flag this comment
6-2
12:28
pm

My condolences on your loss…even if it wasn’t your personal barn..it still gave you joy.

Yankee in NC

Flag this comment
6-2
1:39
pm

So sad to hear but like others I hope they will let you salvage somethng from it. You caould use it in yours or make a cute sign knowing it will live on on your farm.

leneskate

Flag this comment
6-2
1:59
pm

Awwww….so sad. I’m always interested in old barns. We have a pretty old one – was once the blacksmith shop in our little village – but it has been well cared for and got a coat of new red paint two years ago! There’s a house down the road though that looks much like ‘your’ barn just before it collapsed.

JerseyMom

Flag this comment
6-2
4:31
pm

So sad. I’m glad you got some beautiful pictures of it, for history’s sake. Hopefully some of the wood can be reclaimed – safely.

Vicki in So. CA

Flag this comment
6-2
7:21
pm

Awww. That’s so sad. We’ve lost a great many of our older barns around this area this year due to the high winds. They also tear a lot of them down to develop the land. I hate change. :(

lavenderblue

Flag this comment
6-2
10:49
pm

There was a barn a lot like yours that served me as a londmark to turn to go to my grandparents farm. It finally caved,fell or was torn down. In rural areas we seem to used landmarks rather than street markers.

mamajhk

Flag this comment
6-3
12:36
am

To everything there is a season. Now all that lovely old weathered barn siding can be reused and renewed.

whaledancer

Flag this comment
6-3
1:41
am

I live in what used to be a farming community. Sadly, this is no longer the case. One family nearby however has a wonderful old barn three stories tall. I noticed that they have replaced many boards with fresh lumber. It stands tall and plumb. I hope it is there for the remainder of my days. Many more wooden barns are leaning and will someday be gone forever.

I have friends who had their barn of three generations dismantled. They incorporated a beam into their kitchen. Just a single piece of a beam. So many years of service and the wood is a reminder of many years of farming. Still sad to see an empty spot where a barn had proudly stood.

Katharina

Flag this comment
6-3
9:31
am

Rest in Peace, old friend. I have photographed one that slowly decayed also. It was holding on for years, then we had an extremely wet summer and a heavy snow winter, and bam! in she went.
It’s usually the roof that is the weak link. So sad. I love barns, and we have an 1830 New England gray barn that we have actually had roofed. It stores everything–tractors, antique farm equipment we can’t bear to part with, old furniture, my thousands of old pots, you name it. At one time it held horses, cows, sheep, and even chickens(they have their own palais du poulet these days!)But, I still miss my old fallin’ down barn.

hdown

Flag this comment

Registration is required to leave a comment on this site. You may register here. (You can use this same username on the forum as well.) Already registered? Login here.

Discussion is encouraged, and differing opinions are welcome. However, please don't say anything your grandmother would be ashamed to read. If you see an objectionable comment, you may flag it for moderation. If you write an objectionable comment, be aware that it may be flagged--and deleted. I'm glad you're here. Welcome to our community!