Barn at Jeremiah Chastain Farm near Tightwad, Henry County, Missouri (Public Domain, Photo Credit A)
Johnathan Bender, writing for The Pitch of Kansas City, reports briefly on the efforts of the Missouri Barn Alliance and Rural Network (MBARN) to document and preserve the historical significance of “the family barn”: The Missouri barn is disappearing as farmland prices soar.
The article cites a more thorough Associated Press article from Kansas City, (picked up by Rapid City Journal), which details more of MBARN’s efforts:
| “There is a feeling that losing those kinds of structures means we are losing a connection to a really important part of our country’s heritage,” said James Lindberg, a field director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “You would be hard pressed to find a more iconic symbol of rural America.” |
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources provides a form which property owners or volunteers can make a detailed survey and photodigital record of historic barns in their area: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/forms/780-2126-f.pdf
The Kansas Barn Alliance has been in existence since 2006 with similar goals. In addition to providing training and resources for barn owners and restoration specialists, they provide a form developed by the National Barn Alliance, to assist local volunteer groups in surveying for historic farm building information. This survey is formatted for inclusion in a national database.
Photo Credit A: Unspecified photographer, “BARN, SOUTH FACADE – Jeremiah Chastain Farm, Tightwad vicinity, Clinton, Henry County, MO,” Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Call Number HABS MO,42-CLINT.V,5—5, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mo0158.photos.095825p/ (accessed 25 Feb 2012).
Prairie Yesteryear 