THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BARN SURVEY Elizabeth H. Muzzey, State Survey Coordinator The New Hampshire property owner, and by checking the Barn Survey began three years ago, town history and old photographs – a when the NH Division of Historical tall order for just one person. With Resources and the Historic Agricultural practice over a year and a half, the team Structures Advisory Committee kicked devoted an average of three hours to off a farm reconnaissance inventory every barn, including fieldwork and project. assembling the inventory form in its The Advisory Committee was final format. formed the year before, with the The historical society legislative charge to slow the loss of advertised the barn survey in the local New Hampshire’s historic agricultural newspaper to let property owners know structures – barns, silos, corn cribs, WALLACE FARM (PIONEER FARM) what was happening. Although some poultry houses and more – by helping COLUMBIA, NH property owners initially worried that property owners preserve these Photograph by Christine E. Fonda the project was somehow related important cultural landmarks. The barn property to tax assessments (a common survey was initiated to determine how Francestown fear for any historical survey work!), the many and what types of agricultural The Francestown Historical society found that most everyone was buildings remained in the state Society was among the first to contact thrilled that the town’s agricultural In the past three years, the Division of Historical Resources for buildings were being cataloged. hundreds of barn owners from every ideas on how to complete a town-wide Recently, “many properties have rapidly part of New Hampshire have completed barn survey. Francestown had a head changed hands in town,” Kris Holmes inventory forms, documenting the start on its project: a town-wide survey reports, “and the farm family histories richness and diversity of the state’s of all types of historical properties are being lost.” These oral and written agricultural heritage, as well as its losses completed in 1990 as a masters degree histories are now captured and recorded to time and nature. But the goals of project by Gregory E. Thulander. in one place with the farm’s location, determining what New Hampshire Although its emphasis was not on photographs and sketch maps as they farmers built and what remains are agricultural structures, the 1990 survey exist today. For the town’s smaller elusive. New Hampshire’s agricultural did provide high quality black and white farms in particular, the Francestown history does not fit neatly or quickly into photography of most of the barns in Barn Survey may be the only place their a table or database. town, along with their location and histories are documented. However, survey teams in some historical information. Starting Francestown, Deerfield and with the 1990 data, the historical Charlestown Charlestown have tackled the task with a society’s barn survey team drove every By acreage, Charlestown is not town-wide approach, completing road in town to make sure that no barns among the largest towns along the surveys of barns and other agricultural were missed and to determine what had Connecticut River. But surprisingly, the outbuildings in all three communities. changed in the past ten years. In all, the hard-working Charlestown Historical These town-wide surveys are invaluable, team identified 86 barns in Francestown. Society found 166 barns in town, and both for the data they contain and as an Then the site visits began. documented 22 others that are no longer advocacy tool for preserving historic The project’s coordinator, Kris standing, but for which some buildings, open space and agricultural Holmes, stressed the benefits of a team information and photographs were still landscapes. Although each town used approach for fieldwork; “one set of eyes available. About half of these buildings the Division of Historical Resources’ is not enough.” The survey team usually were “horse-and-buggy barns” – small Farm Reconnaissance Inventory Form to included three people; often a person barns in the village built to house a record data, each project proceeded in a “who knew a lot of people in town,” a horse, buggy and perhaps a cow or different fashion and uncovered person with an agricultural background chickens. The survey offers a great deal distinctive historic properties and to identify structures, their uses and of insight into this often overlooked historical patterns of development. tools, and a person who recorded type of agricultural building. As in other Their stories are inspirational and information in an organized and towns in the region, a good number of instructive for everyone hoping to consistent way. Information was Charlestown barns are small English preserve historic agricultural structures. uncovered by investigating the barn and style barns that have been updated or its landscape, by talking with the added to over time. THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BARN SURVEY `The Charlestown Historical more barns once stood in town. Joyce The Survey Continues Society was very fortunate to receive a Higgins writes, “Another thing to A number of other towns and grant from the Connecticut River Joint consider is how many old houses have cities in New Hampshire are planning Commissions to defray project costs. vanished. Those old houses usually had and implementing town-wide barn Volunteers completed fieldwork and barns.” surveys, each based on the community’s compiled and formatted the survey data; historical agricultural resources and grant funding largely covered the cost of Deerfield planning needs. The Division of photography and producing the In Deerfield, a subcommittee Historical Resources also continues to inventory forms. of the town’s Heritage Commission encourage individual property owners to The historical society started its took on the task of surveying the complete Farm Reconnaissance Inventory barn survey by consulting the town tax community’s barns. Beginning in Forms. They are available on the DHR’s list, but found that it didn’t “begin to tell November 2000 and finishing in July web site, at the whole story,” according to the 2002, the four- member team found 80 http://www.state.nh.us/nhdhr/barnsur project’s director, Joyce Higgins. “Barns barns and described their project as “a veyproject.html, via e-mail to or former barns will be listed as garages, slippery task….twenty years earlier we [email protected], or by sheds, houses, business, etc. It is would have had much more history.” calling the office at 603/271-3483. In necessary to look at every building in As in Francestown, the team order to make the barn survey data more town on site to try to determine if it approach worked very well for the accessible and quantifiable, the Division began life as barn.” To unravel the barn Deerfield project. Comprising the team is developing a barn survey database. If origin question, the historical society was a representative from the select you have an interest in barns and also relied on two published town board, a photographer, a scheduler and databases, please consider volunteering histories, oral histories, and the 1987 chronicler, and a “reader” of old barns some time to this effort. The National Register of Historic Places and their construction methods. Setting Francestown, Charlestown and nomination for the Charlestown Main aside a four or five hour block for Deerfield projects each provided a Street Historic District. Even with these fieldwork, the team’s goal was to visit second copy of their survey to the DHR resources, the barns’ dates of four barns a day. About twenty-five for this purpose. construction were difficult to establish; weekend days were devoted to field Although the surveyors in two or three conflicting dates of visits, scheduled around good weather Francestown, Charlestown and construction were often found for the conditions. About one-fourth of the Deerfield all modestly maintain that same structure. buildings were what the subcommittee their projects were not without error or As in Francestown, the called “legacy barns” – barns still owned omission, each expressed a great Charlestown volunteers found very little by long-time families in town. The satisfaction, and perhaps even relief, in written history for most of the barns in remaining three-quarters highlighted the compiling so much historical data before town, but a great deal of public interest. need to record the town’s agricultural change and development erased the The historical society thoroughly history before it dissipated with time and physical record of their town’s searched for historical photographs. change. agricultural heritage. Several noted that “These photos provided visual evidence As expected in an agricultural the hardest part was figuring out how to of barns’ changes of use and design,” community, the survey team recorded a start, whether by driving every road in explains Joyce Higgins, “They were large number of mid-19th century gable- town, consulting tax cards, or making extremely interesting, and of interest to front barns, commonly called Yankee or property lists organized by streets. By everyone who saw them.” For New England barns, as well as twenty to the conclusion of the Francestown duplicating historic photographs, thirty connected farm complexes. project, Kris Holmes reported that “I surveyors found Kodak’s Photomaker Change may not have been as think it is important for people to know “invaluable” and affordable: 48 cents for continuous in Deerfield as in a place that they don’t have to be experts in this a 4x6 reproduction. (Photomaker and such as Charlestown. Many field in order to carry out the survey. I similar technologies are available at outbuildings remained, such as a cheese have a ‘barn’ book list which I found many drug and department stores.) aging building, cooper shops and milk very helpful and also found local The barn survey is now houses, and many barns retained interior contractors very willing to answer available for the public’s use in the features such as silos, water tanks and questions about construction features.