Vermont Division For Historic Preservation

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermonters from all corners of the state and all walks of life will fan out across the countryside for the Fall Barn Census October 3 to 12 to document Vermont’s barns in hopes of better preserving them.

Officials with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation are encouraging people in every community to take part in the Vermont Barn Census individually or as part of a group. Using material downloaded from the Barn Census website (www.uvm.edu/~barn), volunteers will travel their communities to inventory local barns and other historic agricultural buildings.

“If you have a love for Vermont’s barns and a digital camera, you have all the tools you need,” said Nancy Boone, Acting State Historic Preservation Officer with the Division. “This is a chance to really learn not only about the barns in your area, but how important barns are to our state. And it’s a great way to get outside and enjoy the foliage.”

The state and the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program have loaded the website with information about the history and architecture of Vermont barns; a worksheet to record information about them; and helpful hints on conducting a survey. Graduate students from UVM in one of Prof. Thomas Visser’s historic preservation courses are also working with communities around the state to support local Barn Census efforts this fall in Richmond, Hinesburg, Huntington, Hartford, Norwich, Dorset, Manchester, Derby, Brownington, Franklin, Isle LaMotte, Grafton, and, Townshend.

In addition to documenting the barns and their condition, “Volunteers will talk to barn owners to learn not only the facts about a barn like its age and past uses, but also the stories that make a barn come alive,” Boone said.

Following the field work, volunteers will send the information in to a central database over the internet. Those without computer access can submit their inventory information on paper forms. “Send us the information in whichever form works for you”, Boone said. “Every entry is important.”

“We’re hoping for a great turnout, with hundreds of barns being added to the Census” Boone said. “We think these volunteers can really make a difference in preserving barns, a vanishing resource that’s so important to Vermont’s identity.”

Contact: Nancy Boone, Vermont Division for Historic Preservation (802) 828-3045
nancy.boone@state.vt.us

Thomas Visser, UVM Historic Preservation Program (802) 656-0577 thomas.visser@uvm.edu

The small state of Vermont boasts a rich and rewarding historical heritage. Today, that history is well preserved in an exceptional collection of state-owned historic sites stretching the length of the state. Ranging from precontact encampments, to pivotal Revolutionary War sites, to the private homesteads of U.S. presidents, Vermont's historic sites chronicle the development of a state, its people and the nation around it.