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New England settlers didn't have enough money to paint their farms. So they needed a cheap way to protect the barns' wood. They mixed skimmed milk, lime, and red iron oxide to make a red, plastic-like coating. The coating protected the wood and kept barns warmer in the winter.

 

Alternative:

in KY and southern OH, you see a lot of black barns.   They are typically used to hang tobacco.  Often there are narrow doors to increase airflow.  Then they are closed.  I'm guessing the black increases the temperature and aids drying.

Edited February 3, 20233 yr by kmealy

Now that is some cool stuff! Thanks Keith for the history lesson, loved it!!!!

Used to see a lot of the black barns used for drying tobacco in Southern Indiana too. All that I remember had gaps between the siding boards (no battens used) to allow air flow. My grandfather had one on his small farm he rented to a family on the shares. Only a few miles from the Ohio river.

 

That family raised a few acres of tobacco. Farm had 3 ponds with the largest about 3 acres. I remember the old time smoke house as well. The family raised hogs and chickens. Did all their own butchering and smoked the meat (hams & bacon, etc.) including fish they caught from the large pond. Also had a root cellar where they kept potatoes, beans, apples, pears, peaches etc. They were pretty much self-sustaining. Always a treat and honor to be invited to share in their meals. First time I ever ate squirrel and rabbit was with them. Mrs. Brown made the best buttermilk biscuits I've ever eaten. Her apple butter and berry preserves were amazing.

 

Sorry for the ramble; brought back some good memories of much simpler times from over 60 years ago. Thanks Keith.

Edited February 4, 20233 yr by Grandpadave52

Like Dave, it brought back memories for me as well. Growing up in southern KY, my grandpa and uncle raised tobacco. I still remember helping them (as much as a 8 year old could help) cut the leaves and hang it in those barns. For some reason they kept track of the leaves with a number of notches on the sticks they were draped over. I'm not a smoker, but i did like the smell of the hanging tobacco. There was some law that restricted how much they could grow, and their small farms it wasn't much so the job was done fairly quickly.

7 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

That family raised a few acres of tobacco. Farm had 3 ponds with the largest about 3 acres. I remember the old time smoke house as well. The family raised hogs and chickens. Did all their own butchering and smoked the meat (hams & bacon, etc.) including fish they caught from the large pond. Also had a root cellar where they kept potatoes, beans, apples, pears, peaches etc. They were pretty much self-sustaining. Always a treat and honor to be invited to share in their meals. First time I ever ate squirrel and rabbit was with them. Mrs. Brown made the best buttermilk biscuits I've ever eaten. Her apple butter and berry preserves were amazing.

 

What I find amazing, is that there is a devote following to that way of life still to this day, it's a rebirth of wanting to live more simple, but work harder, and for self and community. I've had the pleasure of corresponding with a few of those folks lately (because of my own interest in that lifestyle) and one thing in common they say, life may be simpler in the way that the outside world does not intrude as much as it would for someone who has to punch the clock every day, but it's hard work, harder than most think it would be.

We, me included have this romantic vision of sitting on the porch, whittling on some wood, playing the guitar by the fireplace at the end of the day. reality is those precious moments are far and few in-between for homesteaders and self-sustainers, it's hard work providing for self! From what I hear anyway. I had this thought about living that way when I retire, but after hooking up with a few of the folks who are actually doing it, I found that it's a younger thing to do, and not something most retirees would want to start late in life, if you are born into it, or start early that is one thing, but to make that change late in life, is another.

 

I currently subscribe to a wonderful magazine called "Backwoods Home Magazine". I subscribed to it a few years ago when I had that notion to live that lifestyle, then I found out quickly that living that way, would really dig into my fun woodworking time I plan on doing after retirement, and we are opting for a more traditional retirement.

That being said, I am still a subscriber to the magazine, because it's full of wonderful articles containing tips, instructions, recipes, stories, history, and all kinds of fun American stuff. My recent magazine goes into detail how to humanely kill and butcher your own cow. Will I ever butcher a cow, I doubt it, but it sure was great reading. Then the next article talks about preserving fruit for the long winter, or canning, or making that perfect pie from scratch, it's just a great magazine, here is the link:

 

Home - Backwoods Home Magazine

WWW.BACKWOODSHOME.COM

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Backwoods Home Magazine is a quarterly 116-page homesteading magazine with seasonal articles on building, gardening, canning, cooking, alternative...

 

Must be a Wisconsin thing, very few Red Barns but plenty of Green, or White.

3 hours ago, John Morris said:

Will I ever butcher a cow, I doubt it,

Whatever you do, John, remember this: "Never name an animal you may have to eat"!  VOE.

Edited February 4, 20233 yr by HARO50

35 minutes ago, HARO50 said:

Whatever you do, John, remember this: "Never name an animal you may have to eat"!  VOE.

Well, when ol' Bessie's milk dried up....

1 hour ago, Gene Howe said:

Well, when ol' Bessie's milk dried up....

...we changed her name to ol' Hamburger!

4 hours ago, HARO50 said:

Whatever you do, John, remember this: "Never name an animal you may have to eat"!  VOE.

Here Bacon! Here Bacon!

 Because of the signs on them? 

lol, growing up on a cattle and horse ranch, and having 9 younger sisters they had to name the critters, but the ole man cured of that, they had this here goat they named sir lancelot, he was quite the head butter lol, he followed the gals around all the time, then his day came, ole man brought him to me out side the ole hay barn and said, put ole dinner here in the smoke pit, and well you know, so gals were all out looking for sir lancelot to put'm away at nite, and i had to tell'm they shouldn't name the critters unless they just wanted to call'm dinna.

 

just the way it was, but they couldn't help it, working the ranch is not just cattle, horses and other critters its hard freaken work, never gave it much thought till i got the chance to move to phoenix and work in the family con'st biz, my first job was digging a 3x3x3 ft hole and the boys would build an outhouse over it, usually a couple per subdivision or project, barrel of lime was posted. after that i picked up nails and straightened them and sorted them into wood kegs, yeah kegs, 

i'd tell some youngs'ns when i was teaching them carpentry and they'd all look at me like i was nuts, but gotta say, being a wood butcher was a dang site easier than ranching.

rj in az

On 2/4/2023 at 10:36 AM, HARO50 said:

Whatever you do, John, remember this: "Never name an animal you may have to eat"!  VOE.

A friend of mine did a lot of boundary water canoeing.  He said he brought his dog, Lunch, along, well you know, just in case.

 

One time he told me that in the following week he was going to this tiny little village in Michigan (population ~600) to do some canoeing.  He said I probably never heard of it.   He was quite surprised when I said I'd not only heard of it, but been there the prior week.  It's about 10 miles north of where my daughter lives and I ran up there during a visit.

6 minutes ago, kmealy said:

A friend of mine did a lot of boundary water canoeing.  He said he brought his dog, Lunch, along, well you know, just in case.