Preserving Old Ontario Barns in the On-Line World: Part 3 of 5, Creating a Consistent Database
by Hugh Fraser This blog appears throughout November and December 2020 with the following topics that build upon each other. They explore some reasons why barn databases may have failed in the past, how OBP is trying to find ways to make it simpler, and to enlist a small army of people to do the […]
Preserving Old Ontario Barns in the On-Line World: PART 2 OF 5, What’s an old barn, and why are they difficult to document?
Ontario Barn Preservation By Hugh Fraser, OBP Director This blog appears throughout November and December 2020 with the following topics that build upon each other. They explore some reasons why barn databases may have failed in the past, how OBP is trying to find ways to make it simpler, and to enlist a small army […]
PRESERVING OLD ONTARIO BARNS IN THE ON-LINE WORLD: PART 1 of 5, INTRODUCTION
By Hugh Fraser, OBP Director It should be no surprise that Ontario’s oldest barns were built where peoples of European descent first settled. However, those areas have become filled with hundreds of thousands of people since. Barns got displaced, torn down, became obsolete, crumbled from neglect, burned down, got scavenged, and were dismantled for repurposing […]
CBC Interview
On October 14, 2020, Krista Hulshof our VP was Interviewed by CBC to get an introduction to Ontario Barn Preservation. The interview is a great synopsis of our missions, visions and passion for Ontario Heritage barns. Enjoy! Click on the link below to listen
GREY COUNTY BARN
Here is a great example of a typical Grey County barn, one that I have passed by many times in my travels around Chatsworth municipality. I recently spent a few hours examining this barn and found, as is usual, unique aspects of it that are not found in other barns. I love the sleuthing part […]
How to Maintain your Barn
6 simple ways to ensure more longevity out of your barn without big investments Water is one of the worst enemies of your barn. Water can get everywhere and if it can’t get out or dry out it will cause various forms of damage! Drainage Make sure that the grade around your barn slopes away […]
Photo Documenting Barns
To be clear, I am definitely no professional when it comes to photography and I welcome anyone more camera savvy to please contribute corrections and/or commentary. That said, I have (luckily!) spent a good amount of time over the past 40 years taking photos of barns as part of a documentation process that has often lead […]
How Olde Is My Barn?
So you have one of Ontario’s heritage barns and you’d like to know how old it is. Well, did you check the municpal office for a copy of the building permit? No luck eh. It’s hard now to even imagine how it was possible, but it did happen and right here in Ontario. The largest, […]
A Reverence for Ontario’s Rapidly Vanishing Rural, Built Heritage; Some Reflections
By: John C. Carter Introduction: The late American author and historian Eric Sloane is well known for his written works dealing with reverence for the past. His books have helped to provide a record for future generations to better understand the way our 19th century ancestors lived. As he has correctly pointed out, barns as a […]
BARN RAISING
When we look at century old barns in Ontario, it’s a wonder how they built these massive structures without any kind of modern machinery we take for granted today. Well, they did, with just hand tools, rope, horses and community strength, especially when it came time for the barn raising. During the last half of […]