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Historic barns to be surveyed
Kansas The Kansas State Historical Society recently launched a statewide barn survey and research project. KSHS has contracted with Brenda Spencer of Preservation Planning and Design to conduct a survey of historic barns in Kansas and develop a National Register Multiple Property Listing for Kansas Agricultural-Related Resources. Beginning in June and throughout the summer and fall, Spencer will be traveling across the state looking at historic barns. KSHS needs your help identifying barns to be surveyed. The project will involve a survey of approximately 315 barns, an average of three barns in each county. The survey will require physical access to the barns to allow visual and photographic documentation of the exterior and interior where possible. The survey is a means to identify the different types of barns in our state and study their styles and construction in relation to settlement patterns and agricultural trends. As part of the project, a historic context for agricultural-related resources in Kansas will be developed for a National Register Multiple Property Submission that will include the listing of five barns on the National Register of Historic Places. In the future, property owners will be able to nominate barns and other ag-related resources to the National Register under this format. National Register-listed properties are eligible for financial incentives including the Heritage Trust Fund restoration grants and Rehabilitation Tax Credits. Barns will not be listed on the National Register without written owner support. How you can help? With the assistance of the KSHS and the Kansas Barn Alliance, Spencer is in the process of identifying barns to be surveyed in each county. No one knows each county better than the local residents. If you know of historic barns in your area, please contact Brenda Spencer at 785-456-9857 or spencer@wamego.net. Spencer grew up in Rogersville, Miss., and came to Kansas State University to attend the College of Architecture and Design. She lives on a small farm in rural Pottawatomie County and has her own preservation consulting business. Christy Davis, a fifth-generation Kansas who grew up on a farm near Sedgwick, Kan., will be assisting in the project. If you see an old car traveling the back roads or stopped beside a farm this summer, it just may be Spencer checking out an old barn. Stop and share the story of your barn or tell her about another great barn she just has to see. Date: 7/16/07
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