New England Barns

A barn that has seen better days here in Southwestern Ontario. This barn is by no means as old as the ones I have seen in New England but caught my eye as something that one could model. We don't need to have our barns looking new. It is located between Sarnia and Strathroy on Confederation Rd. The CN mainline is about a half mile behind the barn.

I recently watched a show about pulling apart heritage barns and rebuilding them in Vermont. There was a few interesting facts I like to pass along to you.  

Barns in New England up till the 1790's were built mostly without windows. Glass was very expensive at that time. Also boards on these old barns prior to 1800 commonly could have board widths up to 25". Wire nails began to be used about 1850 and commonly used by the 1890's. The barn on the show was dated to prior to 1800.

Cut nails that are hand forged were used prior to the 1850's which were hard to get and expensive. It was common for settlers heading west in the early years to burn their barns so they could recover their nails prior to leaving for a new build. A law did come into effect that stopped this practice.

Also noted was the slate shingles found on the barn. Most were a tone of gray but many were a purple tone. It seems New England slate really varied from area to area. Some areas had more red in the mix.

I doubt any of us will model the nails but it is nice to have this information so we can date a barn we see in the future...George Dutka 

I usually like to photograph one or two barns on my trips to New England. This one was a grab shot on a gloomy morning on my way home. I like having photos on files which show different grades around a barn for modeling purposes. You don't want them all planted on flat soil. This one the ground drops down on one end which gives one a chance to model a foundation if so desired. The small add-on seen on the end adds to the look of the scene. 

Not sure I would ever model this paint finish on the side of my barns. I saw this one across from the New York Throughway service center I stopped at not far out of Albany, NY on my way back from Springfield 2023. Maybe would work for a Christmas gift wrap project.