American Barns

A treasure of early American architecture, this book celebrates and chronicles how barns became mighty symbols of the heartland and explains how the fusion of immigrant ideas, construction methods and regional and practical necessities influenced the rise of a wide variety of barn styles in the United States. From the earliest rare Dutch barns to simple Yankee A-frame English barns to the polygonal and round barns crafted by the Shakers in the 1800s, the book also highlights the efforts of conservation groups to preserve America's barns and find innovative ways to repurpose these glorious old structures as homes and studios and living monuments of our rural heritage.

The barn is an icon of rural America - but it is in danger. This book celebrates the variety of beautiful barn architecture, how it was originally built and used, and why it now faces decline. But the barn is also enjoying a renaissance as heritage barns are adapted to stylish new uses as homes and studios. This book tells the whole barn story and reveals what you can do to make sure they survive.

Jan Corey Arnett is an award-winning writer, photographer, blogger and lecturer. She was raised on a Michigan dairy farm and passion for saving heritage barns has earned her the name "The Barn Lady".

A Barn by Any Other Name

The Heart of Every Farm

Fit, Form and Function

Barns in Decline

When Everything Old is New Again

Places to Visit

Glossary

Further Reading

Index