OLD BARN № 107

Once upon a time, OLD BARN number 107 was quite lovely when driving down Meadow Brook Lane. The two structures shown below were part of a quite large homestead. The old farmhouse seen to the right of the barn in the following photo is no longer there and only the barn remains.

Sadly, the barn is in a serious state of disrepair now. Over time, many old barns visible from the roadways become part of the "history" of the landscape. Sometimes they also have sentimental value to the landowner, especially if they were built by a beloved family member long ago. I could almost hear someone saying, "My grandpa built this barn after he returned from the war..." or something similar. So, the landowner might be leaving the barn [mostly] untouched for either historical or sentimental reasons, or both. Or, maybe he cannot afford to have it properly repaired while preserving its charm and detail, I dunno. It must be difficult to find weathered wood that would match the age & patterns on a barn such as this. But, I think more that he (or she!) wants it to remain in its original condition, as much as slow deterioration over time will allow.

In the above photo, we're looking at one end of the barn. There is a large awning attached to the back where something is housed — perhaps an old horse trailer...? I chose this vantage point for my photo so as not to disturb the people in the house by stopping my car directly in front of their homeplace. Plus, I thought the awning was a great touch!

In the following photo made many years after the first shot, I stopped my car in a slightly different spot so I could photograph the front of the barn as well as the end. The awning on the back has fallen down and has been hauled away. You can see the end of the barn on the left and the "front" of the barn is visible with its large drive bay. There are now blocks supporting the underside of the barn's front wall which were not there during my original visit. Perhaps the loss of the awning behind the barn resulted in instability and caused the remainder of the building to lean, and the blocks are countering that.

Across the road from this barn are other structures that indicate this was definitely once a working farm. There is another barn, much smaller than the main barn, as well as a couple of sheds. I think the small barn and sheds make a very attractive sight when passing by! When the big barn was still in good repair, the whole scene was quite charming, with the big barn on one side of the road and the smaller structures on the other!

Not shown in any of my photos is a freestanding "awning" structure a ways behind the main barn. It is constructed of six hefty posts that support a roof, but there are no walls. It's probably a place to store hay without its getting wet, or maybe a place for livestock to congregate during rainstorms.

^{smaller barn near Old Barn 107}

^{sheds near Old Barn 107}

Considering that the farmhouse is no longer standing, I was trying to decide where the landowner lives now. If one follows the white rail fence down the road to the right of OLD BARN № 107, there is now a driveway that disappears into the trees. Looking at the satellite imagery, it appears that the driveway winds through the trees and then up-and-over the hill to a house at a location not visible from the road. That's where I think the landowner might live now. The only other nearby possibility is the house that is across the road from the start of that aforementioned driveway, but that house was already standing and being used when the old farmhouse beside the barn was inhabited, so I think it belongs to a separate family. Of course, perhaps one family might own the property on one side of the road and another family owns what's on the other side of the road — two homesteads along the same road, across from each other.

Here's my original pic, shown below, before any brightening, contrast enhancement, etc...

It would be fun to have a time machine and visit some of these barns during their prime and chat with the landowner to learn more about his farm and the uses of all the buildings on the property. And, of course, a peek inside them would be exciting, too!