By Matthew Cumberledge, GCHS Executive Director
Most of the time when we think of an artifact, we think of something safely tucked away behind glass in a museum, but an artifact is simply nothing more than something made by human hands, large or small; if man made it, it’s an artifact.
So this month we’re bringing you something big! The artifact we’re talking about is the original County Home (or Poor Farm) Barn on the Greene County Historical Society Museum grounds. It was likely built around the same time as the 1886 addition to the actual county home. The louvered windows on the upper portion of the sidewalls use molding that is cut exactly the same as molding used on the 1886 wing added to the main structure.
Our barn is what is known throughout the state as a typical Pennsylvania bank barn, built into a natural slope that allows ground access on two levels. The main entrance – two large, hinged doors open onto large open area that likely would have been used for threshing wheat. On either side would have been a large area for storing equipment, carriages, wagons, and hay, with a hayloft above. The barn is built using timber frame construction, where a thick stone foundation supports a frame of large timbers to make up the structural components of the barn.
Like most barns, it has seen its fair share of use over the years and has been modified to suit ever changing needs. The stalls on the lower side of the barn and underneath the threshing floor would have been the home for milk cows and, later, as a space for workshops and storage.
Pennsylvania bank barns, at one time, would have been one of the most important structures on any farm in the area, playing a key role in agriculture and keeping food on the table. Threshing and the grain that resulted, kept bellies full!
Unfortunately, as farming declined over the last hundred years, many barns such as this have fallen out of use and have been taken down. Some have been repurposed into homes, utilizing the beautiful timber frame structure as the main feature of a new house, but while driving around the rural back roads of Greene County many well-preserved examples can still be seen. Some are decorated elaborately with intricate woodwork and cupolas that aid in ventilation.
Next time you’re visiting the Greene County Historical Society Museum, please ask for a tour of our well-preserved Pennsylvania bank barn to see its interesting architecture and our extremely large collection of vintage farm machinery and equipment!Greene
