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Barn Census 2009







































Silo

470 Chase Road, Brownington, Vermont

             Brownington, Vermont is a quiet town in the midst of an area known as the Northeast Kingdom, which is a very remote, rural and picturesque region of the Green Mountain State. The landscape sways over rolling hills, and leads into dense woodland. It has had long life as an agricultural hub for goods and crops, primarily wool, maple sugar, dairy products, and, surprisingly, the production of hops. Dairy production would only start picking up later, as the staple Vermont good, towards the early 1900's. To understand this dynamic past, historians and preservationists are working today to inventory these historic reminants and understand the larger historic scene that they were part of. Concious examples of that understanding are visable through the activities of the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, as well as through the Orleans County Historical Society.

            The work comprised here is of a 'windshield-survey' of this town for the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation, in collaboration with the University of Vermont's Graduate Program. This project included taking photographs of historic barn structures visible along publically accessible roads in the town of Brownington. This was done in order to inventory structures, for further/future research, through the Vermont Barn Census. In addition, the University of Vermont's Graduate Program has brought to you this web showcasing, a historic narrative, photo research, and detailed mapping of the sites currently found.

          Telling the story of this area, through these remaining historic structures and through research, are essential elements to fully rendering the story of what has transpired over this landscape and how that involved the people who once occupied it. This preliminary research will help in telling a portion of the communities past. However, more detailed histories for these buildings is still necessary, through the help of property owners, historians, and local volunteers.

Franklin, VTDerby, VTBrownington, VTHinesburg, VTHuntington, VTRichmond, VTNorwich, VTHartford, VTDorset, VTManchester, VTTownshend, VTGrafton, VT

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 graduate students enrolled 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.