The barn builders - Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster

When the first farmer settlers came to our area, they were faced with enormous challenges. They needed shelter for their families, to clear the land for crops, basic survival and to build shelter for livestock. 

 

At first, the animals would be in the crudest of buildings, such as a lean to that was attached to the humble cabin. As time and energy would permit, small log barns were built. By the 1870s, the farmers were able to construct larger, substantial timber barns for livestock in a lower section and for the storage of hay, straw and grain in an upper floor. Of course, with timber being readily available, it was the number-one choice for the building material. Local sawmills often worked on the basis of sharing the lumber produced when logs were brought in. That is, the customer would get his logs sawn in return for the mill owner retaining a share of the lumber produced. It was a win-win situation. 

 

Timber barns are composed of posts, which are the vertical components, and beams, the horizontal ones. In addition, various braces between the posts and beams complete the basic structural elements. The post and beams are connected by a system using mortises, the rectangular slots in a post, and tenons, the tongues of wood at the end of the beam. When tenons are inserted into the mortises, round or rectangular holes are bored into the connection between the two and then they are secured with wooden pegs called trunnels. 

 

Thus a very sturdy structure is accomplished without the use of nails or screws. 

 

A section of posts and beams is called a bent. The number of bents in a barn determines its length. In 1906, it was announced that Charles Procter of Morris Township was increasing the length of his barn by adding another bent to it. Running from end to end lengthwise in the barn are sills at the bottom, purlin plates up higher and top plates above that. 

 

The lowest timber in a structure is called a sill and it lays on the foundation. Earliest barns were built on the ground without a foundation, but with large stones at the corners. The lowest beam was then called a mud sill. 

 

By the 1880s, there must have been the ability devised to raise a barn up off these mud sills and to replace them with either a stone foundation or one made of cement. In one June, 1881 edition of the Huron Expositor alone, the Seaforth newspaper chronicled that no less than 14 barns were raised to be put on stone foundations and that four new barns were built.

 

When the old-growth forests were no more, it became difficult to find a tree tall enough to produce a foot square timber of the length needed for the sills, purlin plates and top plates. For that reason, most new timber barns being built these days rely on the solid parts of older barns that have been dismantled.

 

A barn raising required a barn framer, or barn builder, a person who was in charge of all aspects of the endeavour. In the Auburn area, one such person was Donald Patterson, who later became Huron’s county engineer. Patterson was hired to erect a barn for James McBride of Carlow in the barn-raising season of June, 1885. When Patterson became ill with pneumonia, he delegated young Oliver Clark to do the job. McBride was wary of the choice and worried that the rock elm that he had paid $8 per thousand feet for would be ruined. Clark enlisted the help of experienced barn builder Bill Whitely of Londesborough to be present. Whitely agreed, saying Clark was in charge but if he (Whitely) saw any missteps, he would take over. No errors occurred and Oliver Clark successfully completed his first barn raising. 

 

Some of the other names of framers from years past that have surfaced are Alex Dennis of Walton, John Curran of Ashfield, a man by the name of Keating in the Seaforth area and George Steen.

 

Preparatory work for a barn-raising would be securing the needed lumber and the assembly of portions of the barn ahead of time. These components would be laid out on the ground surrounding the site in the correct order.

 

The premise of a barn raising bee in the early days was that the mighty beams, posts and bents were raised into place by sheer manpower using ropes, chains and pulleys. And to this end, men and boys came from the neighbourhood to share their brawn and expertise. 

 

On the day of the event, two captains were chosen who, in turn, called out the names of the workers until everyone was on a team. The barn framer was in charge and no moves were made without his direction. With a “yo heave “ here and a “steady men” there, he guided the erection of the frame of the barn. 

 

The parts of the frame, once erected, were held together with scads until the exterior boards could be nailed on to complete the operation. However, for one farmer in Kinloss, it was unfortunate that a strong wind sprang up the night of the barn-raising and the whole framework blew down in a tangled mess.

 

Once the work was completed, it was time for a bountiful meal served by the hostess and many other women. Often, a dance completed the evening. 

 

It was not uncommon for liquor to be present at barn raisings and sometimes this led to some accidents. From time to time, editorials appeared in local newspapers decrying the barn-raising culture, stating that the competition aspect could lead to carelessness and accidents. 

 

At one barn raising in West Wawanosh Township in 1892, during the erection of a 70x40-foot structure, it was noted that one man was knocked down by a falling brace, another had his head cut open, while still another had his foot crushed. Occasionally, the injuries were more severe and sometimes a worker had the misfortune of falling and losing his life.

 

These days, the tradition of barn-raising is still being carried on in the Amish and Mennonite communities.