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Barn Project

The Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society has embarked on a new projoct, "Barns of Columbia County."  The project goal will be to catalog each and every barn in Columbia County.  In addition, certain barns of interest will be featured with larger photos and stories that document the barn.  At the completion of the project, a book will be assembled and will be available for purchase at the Society.

Steve Varonka, CCH&GS webmaster, writer, photographer and publisher, will head up the project.  Steve is seeking contributors to the project.  "Documenting the stories of barns would be a huge undertaking and I can't do it all myself," said Steve.  "I need all the help I can get."  If you have a story for your barn contact the Society or Steve directly using our contact form.  All mail to "webmaster" goes directly to Steve. Some barns will be difficult to photograph from the road.  If your barn has a vantage point from your property that would better show off your barn you should also contact Steve and make arrangements for him to visit.  Maybe your barn has some special construction feature.  Steve will be happy to come and document the feature.

This is a tremendous opportunity to help preserve your barn for future generations.  We can't be sure that they will be standing in 100 years.  It is very important that we put this legacy together before one more barn is lost.

Click to see the barns on file so far.

Click here to search the file.

Click Here to read the Bowman Barn story.

Click Here to learn about the Historic Barn and Farm Foundation of Pennsylvania

Click Here to REGISTER your barn with the HBFFP

Progress Updates

8/27/2007

The summer has been very time consuming and I have not the free time that I expected.  I did manage to get 97 photos in our online catalog.  I have to admit, it has been much more difficult than I imagined.  It is very diffucult to find a place to park on the public roads and stay safe.  I had to pass up a few barns for safety sake.  Also, finding parcel and owner information has also had its problems.  I have done my best but admit, there could be some errors.  If you find any please let us know.

Please send us your photos and barn stories.  I will continue to photograph as my time permits.  I am estimating that there are between 200 to 300 barns in the county.  I can tell you now that I have seen signs that indicate around 25 barns tore down over the last 5-10 years.  Help us document what remains.

Also, there is a new subsection for multiple photos.  See the red and blue boxes below the photos.  It tells you if there are more photos or if this is a single photo.  SV.

1/5/2008

I've added links above regarding the Historic Barn and Farm Foundation of Pennsylvania. They are tied to a national effort to preserve our barns. They are building a database, click on the register link to print their form.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I am looking forward to getting some time soon to capture more barn photos. Please feel free to send your photos to the Society and don't forget the barn stories. SV

3/15/2008 Thanks to the efforts of Pat Davis, we have added 22 more barns to our catalog today. I understand she has more to send. Keep watching.