When a family farmed...

When a family farmed to subsist and feed their livestock, closeness to the soil and awareness of nature were intrinsic parts of Vermont life. This fertile lifestyle inspired barns and outbuildings of solid grace.... structures that reflect Vermont's character and the practical ingenuity of its design and its builders.

Both the population explosion and the rise of agribusiness have caused the rapid disappearance of the small "family owned" farm and the need for these traditional structures and an era has drawn to a close. What remains is an endangered species of splendid buildings that offer mute testimony to the functional beauty and purity of design that once characterized the Vermont way of life. Many stand on land whose owners lack either the interest or the money to prevent the deterioration and eventual ruin of these proud buildings. Many more were originally built on the most desirable and valuable sites.

Although restoration of old houses is popular today, most barns of equal architectural merit and age have been ignored and seemed doomed. Yet people who take the time to befriend old barns will find that they hold many secrets and that each one has its own charm and mystery, instilled by an anonymous designer or builder who worked in the vernacular of his time. Adaptive use is the key to their preservation.

For these proud structures to remain on any landscape, their value must first be recognized and adaptive new uses must be found. Many barns are unexceptional. Those who wish to preserve a barn must be sure to direct their resources wisely and with a well informed choice of barns.

The Barn People want to see these precious historical buildings preserved by finding new lives for them. To this end, we dismantle and restore exceptional old barns and outbuildings and reassemble them on the new owner's site.

Finding a good barn is in itself an art >

Our frame package includes >

Vintage Barns Bibliography >

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