Vermont Barn Census 2009 Preliminary Research

Vermont Barn Census

This map of Huntington was produced using ArcGIS software, and shows the distribution of Huntington's barns. A soils layer produced by the National Resources Conservation Service classified soil mapping units according to agricultural value. The areas shown in pink are those with the best potential for agriculture, which would have been the most desirable and productive for early settlers. Areas shown in yellow are those with more limited agricultural potential but having a slope of less than 40 degrees, therefore still usable for pasturing sheep during the Merino boom in 1830-40. Existing barns are represented by blue dots, while the red dots represent farmsteads shown on the 1871 Beer's map of which no trace of agricultural structures remain. It is interesting to note that the vast number of abandoned farms are in areas that were suitable only for pasturing sheep. Presumably those areas were abandoned as agricultural trends shifted towards dairying and other forms of agriculture in the areas that were able to support it.

Click on the map for a larger view.

This preliminary research about barns and farm buildings in thirteen Vermont towns is offered as a public service to assist local volunteers with their efforts to learn more about the agricultural heritage of these communities. It is hoped that additional information on the history and features of these barns will be submitted by volunteers through the Vermont Barn Census project. The historical research and preliminary field documentation was conducted during the fall 2009 semester by Sebastian Renfield in the Researching Historic Structures and Sites course at University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program with the assistance of local volunteers as part of the Vermont Barn Census, a statewide project of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program, Historic Windsor’s Preservation Education Institute, Save Vermont Barns, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and the Preservation Trust of Vermont. Funding support provided in part by a Preserve America grant through the National Park Service to the State of Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.