“Field Work” at the MOD
by Jim Campbell, Duntroon: OBP Director/VP “Driving out of town,as landscapes blur by,fond memoriesof childhood visits to a family farm:the barn, the land, the grass,the space,timeless slowness,come together in my mind.A quiet stillnesslingers.” This past Thursday evening I was captivated by a winning photograph at the Blue Mountain Foundation of the Arts Juried Photo Show […]
Remembering Jenny Phillips
by Laura Brown, OBP Administrative Assistant and Volunteer Jenny Phillips, previously our Regional Representative for Middlesex, Elgin, Chatham Kent, Essex and Lambton, passed away on January 18, 2025, in her 77th year. We would like to recognize Jenny for her contributions to Ontario Barn Preservation. This includes two posts for our website: Jenny was very […]
The Old Barn Model: The Final Product (Part 3 of 3)
by Hugh Fraser, OBP President for 2023-2024 In the first blog of this series, I described my serendipitous meeting with John Ness at Canada’s Outdoor Farm ShowTM in September 2022. He volunteered to build a scale model old barn for OBP to display at events. In the second blog of this series, I described the challenges […]
The Old Barn Model: The Swing Beam Barn and Its Challenges (Part 2 of 3)
by Hugh Fraser, OBP President for 2023-2024 In the first blog of this series, I described my serendipitous meeting with John Ness at the Outdoor Farm Show in September 2022. After studying a scale model barn we displayed at our booth, John volunteered to build us a really detailed barn. John did not grow up […]
The Old Barn Model: A Serendipitous Encounter (Part 1 of 3)
by Hugh Fraser, OBP President for 2023-2024 In September 2022, I worked three days on behalf of Ontario Barn Preservation at our inaugural display at the Outdoor Farm ShowTM, just west of Woodstock. This event hosts tens of thousands of farmers from across Canada. OBP had a modest display with two six foot long tables […]
The Sad Remains of a Barn in Southern Ontario
by Laura Brown, OBP Member and Our Stellar Volunteer Hello, my name is Laura Brown. I took these photos of an old barn in ruins, and more of the old farmhouse. I began photographing old buildings more than 20 years ago. Having a digital camera not using film made it much easier and less expensive […]
Wagon Door Hardware — Strap hinges and Pintles
by Claudia Smith, OBP Secretary By the mid-1800s, Ontario farmers were increasing their grain production and three-bay English barns became common. They were typically longer than they were wide and had three more or less equal sections – a centre drive-through passage variously called the “threshing floor,” the “barn floor” or the “drive floor” […]
Artist Creates Images of Bruce County Barns
By: John C. Carter, OBP Regional Representative It is always gratifying to learn of an Ontario artist who is documenting and creating images of Ontario barns. Such is the case of Southampton/Oakville painter Greg McDonald. Seventeen of his original water colours which feature Bruce County barns, are currently on display in the Exploration Gallery, Southampton […]
Enns Barn Painting Collection: Installment 5 of 5
Throughout June, Ontario Barn Preservation is pleased to bring to you barn paintings from the collection of David and Sandy Enns – enjoy this final installation and please document the barns you appreciate by photographing, sketching, modelling or painting them! Please note that the copyright of the paintings is held by the artists or their […]
Enns Barn Painting Collection: Installment 4 of 5
Throughout June, Ontario Barn Preservation is pleased to bring to you barn paintings from the collection of David and Sandy Enns – enjoy! Please note that the copyright of the paintings is held by the artists or their estates. Thank you David and Sandy for sharing these images and compiling the related information. It would […]