Tag Archives: barn surveys

NBA Virtual Lecture #4: Historic Barns of Shenandoah County, Virginia

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Join us for the next lecture in a series of presentations led by experienced practitioners across the country in support of barn-preservation education on February 25th, 2021 at 6 pm EST.

This lecture will be hosted via Zoom and is free to all who register.
To register, send an email to RSVP with your name and location (city/county, state) to info@barnalliance.org by Sunday, February 21st. We will send an email with the details to call or login to all registrants on February 23rd, 2021.
“Historic Barns of Shenandoah County, Virginia”

Presenter: John Adamson

Keywords: Shenandoah Valley Agriculture, Historic Barn Types, Historic Construction Methods, Barn Terminology, County-level Survey/ Documentation

From 2017 until the present, Mr. Adamson has surveyed over 270 surviving barns in Shenandoah County. This program is a photo essay depicting barns of Shenandoah County built before 1950 and the agriculture those barns served.

Using the Shenandoah County Historical Society’s photographic archives, images of traditional agricultural scenes and practices from the 1910s and 1920s are followed by a description of the types of barns constructed in Shenandoah County from earliest settlement in the 18th century until approximately 1950.

Drawing on the photographic and data records of his survey work, Adamson’s program presents a rich pictorial review of the iconic barns still found in the county. It also includes a brief discussion of the cultural roots of Shenandoah County agriculture and barn architecture, presenting basic barn terminology and construction methods.
Photo Credit: John Adamson, Shenandoah County Barn Survey Project.

John Adamson

John Adamson currently serves as the Program Manager for the Shenandoah County Historical Society’s (SCHS) Historic Barns Program and was elected to the National Barn Alliance’s Board of Directors in 2020.
Born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, Adamson is a graduate of Virginia Tech and the University of Richmond where his studies centered on statistics and business. He lived and worked for C&P, Bell Atlantic/Verizon in Richmond, Culpeper, and Fairfax County before retiring to Strasburg with his wife, Barbara in 1998.  

John has long had an interest in history in general, military history in particular, and in Kentucky long rifles. Since coming to Shenandoah County he has developed great interest in Shenandoah County history, local architecture, and the material culture of the Shenandoah Valley.  

In addition to volunteering with the SCHS and NBA, John serves on the Board of the Strasburg Museum and Belle Grove, Inc., a National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) property. He is also a member of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee on the Shenandoah County Comprehensive Plan.

Things will be warming up at our 2013 Winter Meeting!

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Preservation students from the University of Mary Washington at Weston Farm in Fauquier County, Virginia, where they documented several barns and outbuildings.

Preservation students from the University of Mary Washington examined several barns and outbuildings at Weston Farm in Fauquier County, Virginia.

As some of our members may already be aware, we are holding our Winter Board Meeting in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in partnership with the University of Mary Washington on February 15th-17th, 2013.  The focus of this year’s meeting, building mutually beneficial partnerships, could not be more timely given the economic climate!

Special guests at this year’s meeting include undergraduate and graduate students, many in Historic Preservation programs, who will present their work to research and document historic barns and farms in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Additional speakers, as well as a roundtable discussion, are planned to elaborate on selected successful partnerships in the barn preservation community.  The Board will also conduct work sessions to review our mission statement and action plan to ensure the NBA’s continued growth and relevance to the barn preservation movement at large.

We will be sure to provide additional information and updates on our efforts – so please stay tuned.  You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, and visit us anytime you want at www.barnalliance.org!

Forming the Future of Barns: Winter Meeting

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Are you part of a barn preservation organization? And are looking to network and gain knowledge to strengthen your organization? Then…

Join us for our Winter Meeting!!! February 17-19, 2012 • Upper Arlington, OH •  The Amelita Mirolo Barn

As part of the mission of the National Barn Alliance, we are committed providing a platform for barn preservation organizations and owners to connect and share information. On February 18, we invite barn preservation organizations to join us for networking, educational workshops, informative speakers, and socializing.

Joel McCarty, Executive Director of the Timber Frames Guild, will share his organization’s secrets for success as the morning keynote and Alex Greenwood, co-founder The NJ Barn Company and co-author, Barn: The Art of a Working Building, will speak to adaptive reuse for barns in today’s world.

Workshops will cover barn surveying, marketing the organization, and membership development. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be served throughout the day.

Previously the winter meeting was limited to Board members as important face time for an organization where the current Board hails from eight states; so usually our “meetings” are necessarily monthly conference calls. This year the NBA is attempting for the first time ever to bring together representatives of all barn preservation organizations.  The goal is to foster improved communication and the interchange of Best Practices.  We need to learn from each other in order to better promote the awareness and preservation of America’s Heritage Barns and Rural Vernacular Architecture.  This is an exciting development for our small niche of preservation.

Please let us know if you plan to attend to info@barnalliance.org.

NBA 2012 Winter Meeting Full Agenda