OLD BARN № 106

This is definitely one of the most delightful things I have found while out searching for old barns! I've never seen a barn with a striped roof, so finding this one was quite a surprise. The stripes make this rural building quite unique!

I really cannot quite decide if the stripes on the roof were totally intentional (or not) when the painting was begun. If the stripes were an intended design element, it seems they would have been made more unform in width with cleaner edges. Or maybe they were running low on paint, or maybe the painter became tired. Then again, when one is on top of a hot metal roof in warm weather, perhaps looking perfect takes a back seat to finishing the job and climbing down to a cold glass of lemonade.

Also, there is only a very small stretch of road where the barn can be seen, briefly flashing between the trees to passers-by. From the roadway 230 ft (70 m) and to the unaided eye, the imperfection of the stripes isn't so noticeable. So, perhaps the owners knew perfection would be lost to most observers, anyway, except for those strange souls like myself who stopped to take a pic. And they probably never imagined that a weird chick would ever stop and photograph their humble barn. 😁

It does, indeed, look like a fairly simple and humble barn as far as the overall construction is considered. Only one drive bay is visible on the near-side of the barn, itself, and another structure (or extension) has been built in front of the main building. Perhaps that is a garage? And perhaps it lines-up with another drive bay on the other side of the barn? From the road, the exact nature of those things isn't clear.

This barn is located along Store Road in Pickens County, South Carolina (USA), which does, indeed lead to a crossroads where a now-defunct country store once operated. It was quite common long ago in rural areas for small stores (often located at crossroads) to provide goods to people who lived relatively far from the nearest town, especially in the days when automobiles were not so common as they are today.

^{screenshot from WorldMapPin.com ← the world map for Hive posts!}

A recent peek at GoogleMaps™ "Street View" shows the roof is no longer striped as it was in my earlier photo. 😔 It was so pretty with stripes, and rather plain and "blah" now, but probably much easier for the owner to maintain. Windows have now been added to the side of the building, and doors added over the drive bay. Perhaps it is now functioning as a workshop instead of a barn?

^{screenshot from GoogleMaps™ "Street View" from May 2025}

My original image is shown below for those that like to see the originals. Not much changed with this photo.

Have you ever seen a striped roof on a barn?
If so, please share the story or a photo in the comments!