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The Old Barn

 

I love old barns.  In fact, I wanted to have my wedding reception in one (this one, to be precise.)  My husband and I frequently “wish” there was a barn on our property.

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This is the barn at my Great Grandpa’s farm.  When he died at the age of 98 in 2008, my cousin Amy and her husband bought the place, so the farm is still in our family. 

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Unfortunately, though, the barn no longer will be.

It looks beautiful, doesn’t it?  Great Grandpa kept his outbuildings painted nicely, even after they were no longer used for the farm. 

But the foundation is bad, and since it’s not being used for agriculture, it doesn’t qualify for any of the “save the barn” grants out there.

 

So it’s coming down.

But not before family had a chance to salvage what they wanted.

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My dad took home a trailer full of barnwood.  We’re discussing what to do with it right now.  He is planning to build a display shelf for his entryway, to show off some of his toy tractors and I think it would be pretty cool if he’d build a barn playhouse for Adam out of it, too. 

But no matter what happens to it, the barn and the memories will live on.

Would you like to comment?

  1. Sigh.....so sad. I love barns too and hate to see them come down, knowing that the will not be replaced. So glad you were able to take pictures and salvage what you wanted from it. I guess tool sheds are nice, but barns have character!

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  2. I love old barns, too. My parents used to have a beautiful old 3-story barn on their property, but it burned down in 2004. They put up a prefab metal barn to replace it, but of course that doesn't have as much character.

    I've seen lots of talk lately about having barnwood-clad walls, especially if the wood is horizontal. That might be something to consider, or maybe a piece of furniture.

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  3. Oh how sad! I'm sentimentally attached to our barn and we've only lived here for 2 1/2 years. Its foundation is bad too, and it's crumbling slowly. I hope you get some great projects out of the salvaged pieces!

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  4. I have always had a place in my heart for barns, especially those of the red persuasion. I would love to have a dining table out of reclaimed barn wood someday, but for now I will settle with my imitation.

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  5. aw, that is so nice that you will each have a piece of that barn. i am sure whatever you make of it, it will be special.

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  6. My family has a big red barn very similar to that. (Check out IFOF on Friday for a pic.) A friend of mine used barn boards to decorate the lower half of her walls in her family room. it gave the room this really quaint county look.

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  7. There is a beautiful old barn on my grandparents homestead. I love it and love taking pictures of it. My uncle still has cattle there so it's still used and loved.

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  8. It is a beautiful barn, too bad it has to be torn down. You have some neat photos of it and it is great that you get to take some pieces with you. The shelf idea is great!

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  9. Nice barn we have 3 barns old ones and they are used for cattle All have nice haylofts

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  10. Oh it's soooooo beautiful. Is that your Dad in the photo? What a wonderful shot. It will be so meaningful to build out of the wood. I wish we had such a priceless family memory.

    Lots of yummy love,
    Alex aka Ma What's for Dinner
    www.mawhats4dinner.com

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  11. This is so sad. Hope your dad makes something for you out of the wood.

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  12. Our "garage" is a two-horse stall plus workshop barn with a huge loft. I adore it.
    I always find it sad to see collapsed barns on farms, or ones in the state of collapsing. So while I, too, would miss the family barn, I'm glad you're getting to salvage it instead of letting it rot to nothing. Did you save a door? (I've always wanted to panel one wall in my house with a barn door).

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  13. Beautiful barns! I love how they're so rich with family memories.

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  14. So sad it has to come down - it's gorgeous! We actually had to take down a barn on my great uncles property. The barnwood that we didn't keep was sold to a company who recycles it for a variety of purposes (including building new barns)

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  15. It's so sad when the barns have to come down. My folks live on my Great Grandpa's homestead and the old barn came down seven years ago. It was a beaut. We saved a lot of the wood too and Mom & Dad put up barnboard wainscoting in the basement. It looks fantastic!

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