The Barns and Agriculture of Pennsylvania's Northern Tier
A Project of the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance

Project Design
Our first step was to design a 4 page survey form. We created this so that it would correspond with information being sought by the PA Barn and Farm Foundation. We distributed approximately 1500 surveys. We sent news releases to media across the region to encourage people to complete survey forms. Approximately 100 surveys were returned, most complete with photographic documentation.

The news media were very receptive to the project and feature articles appeared in almost all of the monthly magazines in the region. We had a lot of phone conversations with interested folks and with reporters.

We made contact with Dr. Sally McMurry, an Agricultural Historian at Penn State University and also with barn restoration expert, John McNamara of Susquehanna County who helped us interpret the barns. Both Sally and John appear in our DVD relating some of their knowledge of barns and regional agriculture.

Barn Dances
The two barn dances – with attendance of 200 and 170, respectively, are also featured in the DVD. Both showcased regional musicians performing older style “singing calls.” In Colesburg, Natalie Phelps and her family, along with folks from the Food Matrix, were invaluable in organizing the dance and potluck dinner. Ray Wetherby of Belmont, NY and Howard Nelson of Smethport; Harry Erhard and Common Ground from Port Royal, PA as well as Natalie Phelps and Judy Shunk of Coudersport were all featured musicians. The dance provided an opportunity for Natalie to perform with Ray and Harry, with whom she had been studying the old calling style through a PA Council on the Arts Apprenticeship grant. A good time was had by those of all ages with several dancers over the age of 90 still on the dance floor at midnight!

In Troy, featured musicians were Len Souto and the Gypsies with Bette Stroud calling and Pat Kane. Natalie Phelps also did some calling in Troy. Again, the dance brought out a cross-section of the ages and included Len’s grandson with several of his 5th grade classmates. The Troy dance was held in conjunction with the PA Heritage Festival at Alparon Park, home of the Troy Fair - one of the oldest agricultural fairs in the state. Entries from the Barn Art Contest were on display throughout the weekend at the Heritage Festival.

Barn Calendar, Notecards & DVD
A 2009 calendar was created using photos from the Barn Art Contest as well as photos taken for the DVD and project in general. Sales of the calendar benefited NTCA and the concept will be extended to other themes in future years. A set of barn notecards was also been developed and is available for purchase from our PA North Country Artisan Center & Store (PaNCACS) in Towanda.

The DVD, “The Barns and Agriculture of Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier” was released in the first week of July 2009. It is an hour length documentary that features interviews, historic photos and footage of dances, farms and food producers. Thanks to funding received through the National Endowment for the Arts and the PA Humanities Council, public libraries and school district libraries within the six-county project region will receive a free copy of the DVD to add to their collections. The DVD is also available for purchase through PaNCACS ($19 includes tax; $24 includes tax and shipping & handling).

Inspired by the NTCA’s “2008: Year of the Barn,” the Bradford County Regional Arts Council presented a multi-media event at the Keystone Theatre in Towanda featuring Pat Kane and the Finger Lakes Folk, poetry readings by area high school students, and square dance performances by elementary and middle school students from the Athens Area School District who have started an after-school square dance club. The evening wrapped up with a square dance at the Washington Street Station.

What We Learned
One of the first things we learned is that the “Pennsylvania Barn” doesn’t exist in most of our region. The architectural styles of our barns are based on NY and New England styles since that’s where most settlers in our area came from. The most common type of early barn in our region is an “English” 3 Bay, timber-frame threshing barn with a central threshing floor, a hay mow on one side and a granary and/or stalls on the other. Often 30 X 40 feet, these barns typically have a gable roof.

Historically, agriculture in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania developed around diversified grass based livestock production and tree crops including apples, maple and lumber. Due to cool climates, farmers relied on pasture and fed less grain than in the southern parts of the state. From ag census information we found that, in 1850 farms commonly had oxen, poultry, bees, cattle, hogs and sheep and were producing cheese, butter, eggs, meat, honey, maple syrup, vinegar, lumber and more for barter or sale. The tobacco culture also flourished for nearly a century in river and creek flats near the Susquehanna and Cowanesque Rivers. This farming system came from Connecticut with settlers from that region.

Many of the barns in our region were built in the late 1800’s as dairy production expanded. As horses replaced oxen, larger amounts of hay had to be stored to feed through the winters. This led to larger barns or sometimes to many additional farm buildings. The addition of a basement allowed farmers to house various types of livestock inside during the winter. Eventually, as dairy gained prominence, milking stanchions typically filled the basement.

The barns and farms that dominate our landscape today serve as a reminder of the agricultural importance and influence on the heritage and culture of our region and highlight the continued role of farming in the PA Northern Tier culture and economy.