Barn of the Year Award

Friends of Ohio Barns continues annual Barn of the Year Award

As we move toward our third year for these awards we would like to invite you to nominate your favorite Ohio barn. Nominated barns will be judged in two award categories with one winner in each category: Continued Agricultural Use and Adaptive Reuse (non agricultural) the awards will be given at our annual Ohio Barn Conference, March 28 - 30, 2008 in Springfield, OH.

Barn owners, family members, barn enthusiasts, school children, and local historical organizations are encouraged to nominate their favorite barn or barns for one of the two categories. Nominations should include information including: photos, current owner's name, location of barn, current use of barn, any known history, information on the builder if possible or approximate age of the barn.

You don't have to live on a farm to be aware of the many tremendous examples of barn types in Ohio. Traveling our interstate highways and country roads affords a view of the diversity of barn forms that are the result of the early settlement patterns in our state; our barns reflect the ethnic backgrounds of the people who immigrated here, for instance the magnificent German bank barns or the English threshing barns. Some of our counties are celebrating or have celebrated their 200th birthdays and in them you can still find those first settlement period barns. Today just about everyone you meet has some fond memory of time spent in a barn working, playing, tending animals or storing the harvest. Times and farming practices have changed, and many of our historic barns are disappearing along with the farmstead. Help us recognize the architectural workmanship that has been passed on from our ancestors and remains visible on our farms today. Stewardship of our agricultural structures contributes greatly to the rural and cultural landscape which we all cherish.

Nominate your favorite barn

Deadline for nomination is March 10, 2008. Winners will receive; an award, coverage in our newsletter, "The Old Barn Post" and general news releases to the media.

To download a nomination form, please Click Here (Adobe PDF).

2007 Barn of the Year Award Winners

Awarded for Adaptive Re-Use:

Ric Beck presents Melissa Camp the 2007 Barn of the Year Award for adaptive re-use of the barn at Shepherd's Corner. It is owned by the Dominican Sisters, St. Mary of the Springs and is located at 987 N. Waggoner Rd., Blacklick, OH.

Awarded for Agricultural Use:

Ric Beck presents Lloy E. Funk with the 2007 Barn of the Year Award for Agricultural Use. His bank barn is located at 841 County Road 1600, Ashland, OH.