Historic Barns of Southeastern Pennsylvania: Architecture & Preservation

For anyone who has ever admired a barn on an old country lane, this is the story of that barn and many others in Southeastern Pennsylvania, or, specifically, “the hearth,” the area east of the Susquehanna River and South of the Blue Mountains. One of the earliestsettled areas in North America, this region of the Keystone State, which includes eleven counties, is home to an astounding 20,000 standing barns, in various states of repair, built from the mid 1700s on. Discussed in this text are the primary factors that have determined the fundamental structures and appearances of the six great barn classifications, including forest resources. Other featured topics are architectural aspects and regionalisms, dates of construction, survival of 18th-century examples, mysterious decorations, and barn preservation. Completing this treatise are representative color photographs, building plan sketches, charts conveying the prevalence of types, and a glossary of barn terms.

The Making History Greater Series features scholars, authors, and historians who are currently working on telling new stories about the complexity of our region's history. Thursday, presentations begin at 5:00 p.m. with a social gathering and light refreshment. Presentations begin around 5:30 and last for about an hour with time for Q & A at the end.

This program is free and open to the public on October 19, 2017; 5:00-6:30 p.m. For more information contact the Society at 610-272-0297, contact@hsmcpa.org or http://wwwhsmcpa.org.