Clearly, this round barn was a celebration of simple elegance and craftsmanship. There are perhaps 2 round barns left in Ontario and a few more in Quebec this one found half way between State College and Woodward.
In driving through the country roads of Pennsylvania this past weekend, we stumbled upon a century old, round barn. There’s no practical reason to build a round barn; it adds the complexity and its unlikely to offer as much useable volume given that they were used for the same purpose as rectangular barns.
Humans are attracted to beautifully crafted things that celebrate human ingenuity and mimic nature. Beauty trumps cost savings, we see it every day in new builds in most Ontario homes as we pay top dollar for beautiful features.
Clearly, it was a celebration of simple elegance and craftsmanship.
Driving a little further I found the people likely responsible for the build; Amish farmers afield and raking hay by horse. It was a reminder of how crucial beauty is in a structure and that great effort by inspired craftspeople make a work timeless.
The Effort and Ingenuity part: Amish raking a field of hay with renewable carbon… except for that 5HP Briggs & Stratton behind the farmer’s head. That was for hydraulics to raise and lower the apparatus.
For the definitive book on Barns, read The Barn, A vanishing Landmark in North America, Eric Arthur and Dudley Witney, it’s a lovely book now out of print.