The Society

The Dutch Barn Preservation Society was organized in 1985 and incorporated in 1986 by the Regents of the State of New York as a not-for-profit organization by barn owners, historians, and other concerned individuals alarmed by the barns' rapid disappearance. Membership has grown steadily since the Society's inception, making new preservation initiatives possible.

The Dutch Barn Preservation Society sponsors recording projects, educational barn tours, and publications, and is a source of technical and historical information. Members have been instrumental in preserving and restoring threatened barns, and are continually exploring opportunities to offer technical advice and financial assistance.

Introduction

The New World Dutch Barn, as it has come to be known, is one of the last physical reminders of the pre-industrial agricultural heritage of eastern New York and New Jersey. The efficient, heavy timber structural system adapted from Northern European precedents, reflects the practical construction and engineering skills of the predominately Dutch immigrants who settled the area, and their descendants. These barns are now rapidly disappearing from our rural landscapes and are in urgent need of increased study and preservation efforts.

Historic Legacy

Built in large numbers between 1630 and 1825, New World Dutch barns served as all-purpose working farm buildings in a region dominated by grain farming. These buildings represented the center of historic farm activity during this period, providing housing for farm animals, a facility for threshing grain, and storage for both hay and grain. Although rapidly disappearing from the rural landscape, a few hundred Dutch barns survive in the area originally settled by the Dutch, an area roughly corresponding to the seventeenth century Colony of New Netherland. Concentrations of historic Dutch barns can still be found in rural portions of the Hudson, Mohawk and Schoharie valleys, and in northern and central New Jersey. Examples have also been reported on Long Island, in Pennsylvania, and from the Province of Quebec.

Rural Character

Dutch barns are different from other historic barns in their distinctive shape, arrangement of interior space, and H-shaped structural frames which provide a rigid core supporting the external roofing and walls. With a little experience, searchers can identify these barns in the landscape by their box-like shape, low side walls and broad, steep gabled roofs. Those barns which retain their original characteristics exhibit double wagon doors centered in the gable end, with flanking animal doors at the corners, and wide horizontal siding. One side of the wagon door may be divided in the Dutch fashion. Look for small holes, intended to admit swallows, high in the gable. Although these barns often have been modified with additions, silos, the insertion of a lower story to house dairy cows, and new sheathing materials, the distinctive H-frames and the resulting exterior profile remain as distinguishing characteristics.

Interior Layout

On the interior, Dutch barns include a spacious center aisle with a plank floor designed to accommodate unloading wagons and to provide space for grain threshing. The center aisle is typically spanned by three to five massive anchor beams, 20 to 30 feet in length, which form the horizontal members of the H-frame. These beams also once supported sheaves of grain stored on sapling poles in the loft above. The anchor beams usually include distinctive rounded "tongues" which protrude through the supporting columns, where they are secured by wooden pins and wedges. Flanking side aisles provided storage and housing for cows and draft animals. Unlike most other historic barns, the internal structural system characteristic of Dutch barns is relatively protected from the effects of the elements, and can often survive exterior decay for protracted periods of time before collapsing. In summary, this structural system, unlike any in the barns that followed, represents an early and distinct agricultural system and culture.

Preservation Challenges

Like many other symbols of our agricultural past, Dutch barns are rapidly disappearing. Losses are resulting from the deterioration and collapse of abandoned barns, fires, the sale and removal of historic barns in whole or as parts for the construction of contemporary buildings and the outright demolition of these barns due to obsolescence or new development. If the present trend continues unchecked, few of these venerable buildings will survive the next twenty years.

As a generation, we have the responsibility to see that these rare and significant artifacts from our agricultural heritage are conserved for future generations to observe, understand, and appreciate. When these barns can't be saved, it is incumbent upon us to record their presence through maps, photographs, measured drawings and the compilation of historical records.

One of our current projects is moving and reconstructing the Nilson Barn at the Mabee Farm property of the Schenectady County Historical Society Rotterdam. See our 1998 Newsletter that gives considerable detail about the construction of this historic barn, and our website, which shows a preview of our 2006 calendar.
 
 

                                       Res. of FLETCHER VAN WIE  Town of Root  Montgomery Co. N.Y.
                                                                                  Beers, History of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, 1878
 
 

 [   ]YES, I would like to become a member of the Dutch Barn Preservation
                 Society  and help preserve these important landmarks.

                              Membership Levels (Check one)

                            [  ] Supporting          $25.00

                            [  ] Contributing         20.00

                            [  ] Regular                 10.00

                            [  ] Student                  5.00

                            [  ] Organizational     20.00
 
 

Name:                                  ________________________________

Mailing Address:                ________________________________

City/State/Zip:                     ________________________________

Telephone numbers(s):      _________________________________

County:                               _________________________________

Do you Currently own a Dutch barn?         [  ] Yes     [  ] No

                    Dutch Barn Preservation Society
                                    P.O. Box 76
                             Altamont, NY 12009
 

2006 Preservation Grant Application

The Dutch Barn Preservation Society will award up to $500 annually to encourage and assist owners of Dutch barns in the repair of their barns. (Dutch barns have specific defining characteristics, which are outlined in the DBPS brochure.). Priority will be given to repairs that are necessary to extend the life of these barns.  Repairs should be consistent with historic materials and techniques, and they should preserve the historic structure of the barn.  Proposed work should be completed by the end of year.  Copies of receipts and other proof that the proposed work has been completed will be expected. Applications for Dutch barns that have been converted to residential use will not be considered.
 

APPLICATIONS MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN MARCH 1, 2006.
PLEASE PRINT, FILL OUT, AND MAIL TO ADDRESS GIVEN AT END OF FORM.

NAME OF OWNER  (individual or organization)

Contact Person, if different

 MAILING ADDRESS
 

 PHONE/FAX/E-MAIL

 LOCATION OF BARN

 Is this the original location?   YES [ ]   NO [ ]  If not, when and from where was it moved?
 
 

PROJECT PROPOSAL (use additional sheets as necessary)

A. Condition of barn and current use
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

B. History of barn

Record as much as is known and provide references to written or pictorial source materials, if any.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

C. Description of project

Include [1] a description of the problem; [2] the proposed work; [3] materials needed; [4] who will perform the work (NOTE: owner's own time will not be covered by grant); [5] the expected cost; and [6] work schedule.
 
 
 
 
 

D. Is other work needed or planned?  Where does this project fit in the overall preservation needs of the barn?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

E. Photographs

        Include as many color photographs as necessary to illustrate the following:
1. exterior of barn, all sides
2. center aisle of barn interior, and details of bent construction
3. overall condition of barn
4. problem to be addressed in grant project
      Print name, address and an identifying caption on the back of each photograph submitted.

F. Site Map

Include a drawing showing the barn in relation to other buildings and features on the property.
 
 

Mail completed application to ->          2004 Preservation Grants
                                                                Dutch Barn Preservation Society
DEADLINE: Postmark no                    P.O. Box 76
later than March 1, 2006                      Altamont, New York , 12009
 

Questions?  Contact Harold Zoch, DBPS Grant Coordinator, (518) 827-5488 [ before 9 PM ]
 

Page last modified 9/28/2005