Barns are woven into our American consciousness. They are as natural to see as birds. Originally, barns served as farm factories, places of business, storehouses for equipment and supplies. Farmers threshed grain on barn floors, stored hay for feeding livestock in the lofts, and sheltered animals in the stalls. Barns are flexible in use and effective in practicality. Barns literally dot the American landscape. They are a reminder of who we are, not so much who we were, but who we are and where we've come from," says Rod Scott of the Iowa Historic Preservation Alliance. Barns have also served as barometers of prosperity; many were built for reasons that no longer exist, and in many ways their future is uncertain. A barn is essentially an agricultural building used for storage and provides a covered workplace. Typically, barns are most commonly found on a farm or former farm; although barns have become quite popular and are found on many properties now. In fact, some homes are being designed in the look and style of a barn.

Older barns were usually built from lumber sawed from timber on the farm, although stone barns were sometimes built in New England and other areas where stone was a cheaper building material. Modern barns are more typically steel buildings. Prior to the 1900s, most barns were timber framed (also known as post and beam) forming very strong structures to withstand storms and heavy loads of animal feed. From about 1900 to 1940, many dairy farms constructed large barns in northern USA. These commonly have gambrel, or hip roofs in order to maximize the size of the hayloft above the dairy roof. This particular design has become associated as one of the more popular images of a farm. The barns that were common to the wheat belt held large numbers of pulling horses such as Clydesdales. These large wooden barns, especially when filled with hay, often caught fire, burning in a spectacular but devastating display which were usually total losses for the farmers. With the advent of balers it became possible to store hay and straw outdoors in stacks surrounded by a plowed fireguard.

The thing I like about barns is, there's no two barns alike, says photographer Ken Starek. Starek has gathered 40,000 photographs of barns, each with a different story. Everything from that's where I got my first kiss, says Starek, to that's where Dad died.

Which helps explain why in nearly two dozen states preservationists are now cataloging and trying to save as many barns as they can. A few states have set aside money to preserve barns. Congress has not, jeopardizing a priceless heritage, say barn-huggers. [Because when they're gone], there are no more, says Rod Scott. It's as if it never existed. And it's a hole in our history as a nation.

With the popularity of tractors following World War II many barns were taken down or replaced with modern Quonset huts made of plywood or galvanized steel. Beef ranches and dairies began building smaller loftless barns often of Quonset huts or of steel walls on a treated wood frame (old telephone or power poles). By the 1960s it was found that cattle receive sufficient shelter from trees or wind fences (usually wooden slabs 20% open).
In New England, it is common to find barns attached to the main farmhouse, allowing for chores to be done while sheltering the worker from the weather. In the middle of the twentieth century, the large broad roofs of barns were sometimes painted with slogans much like todays modern advertising billboards.

From the days when Thomas Jefferson envisioned the new republic as a nation dependent on citizen farmers for its stability and its freedom, the family farm has been a vital image in the American consciousness. As the main structures of farms, barns evoke a sense of tradition and security, of closeness to the land and community with the people who built them. Even today the rural barn raising presents a forceful image of community spirit. Just as many farmers built their barns before they built their houses, so too many farm families look to their old barns as links with their past. Old barns, furthermore, are often community landmarks and make the past present. Such buildings embody ethnic traditions and local customs; they reflect changing farming practices and advances in building technology. Barns represent an entire way of life.

Unfortunately, historic barns are threatened by many factors. On farmland near cities, barns are often seen only in decay, as land is removed from active agricultural use. In some regions, barns are dismantled for lumber, their beams sold for reuse in living rooms. Barn raisings have given way to barn razings. Further threats to historic barns and other farm structures are posed by changes in farm technology, involving much larger machines and production facilities, and changes in the overall farm economy, including increasing farm size and declining rural populations.

Why so many red barns?
Many barns in the northern United States are painted red with a white trim. One possible reason for this is that ferric oxide, which is used to create red paint, was the cheapest and most readily available chemical for farmers in New England New and nearby areas. Another possible reason is that Ferric Oxide also acts a preservative thus painting a barn with a paint rich in this pigment helps to preserve one of the most important structures on a farm. Ferrous oxide in the red paint was poisonous to moss and mold. This kept the vegetation from growing on the wood leading to a longer life for the boards. Vegetation causes wood to retain moisture which in turn leads to premature decay.

According to Uncle John's Big Bathroom Book, farmers learned that red is a color that retains heat well, thus keeping animals warmer in winter. Supposedly, they used milk with rust from nails etc. to make the paint for their barns.

Red paint was also the cheapest paint to buy and many barns were painted red just because it was traditional.

Housing of animals

A farm often has pens of varying shapes and sizes used to shelter large and small animals. The pens used to shelter large animals are called stalls and are usually located on the lower floor of the barn. Other common areas, or features, of a typical barn include:

• a tack room (where bridles, saddles, etc. are kept), often set up as a breakroom
• a feed room, where animal feed is stored - not typically part of a modern barn where feed bales are piled in a stackyard
• a drive bay, a wide corridor for animals or machinery
• a silo where fermented grain or hay is stored.

Modern barns often contain an indoor corral with a squeeze chute for providing veterinary treatment to sick animals.