Crib barns were a popular type of

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G. N ...

found throughout the U.S. south and southeast regions. Crib barns were especially ubiquitous in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountain states of North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, East Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Design

These barns were composed of multiple cribs, up to six, which were used for feed storage or

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

pens. Crib barn construction was somewhat simplistic compared to other types of barns, such as the

prairie barn The design of a prairie barn, also known as the Western barn, reflects the iconic image of an American barn. The peak roof over the hay loft is what helps give the prairie barn its familiarity across the landscape. It was popularized during the sett ...

or the

round barn A round barn is a historic barn design that could be octagonal, polygonal, or circular in plan. Though round barns were not as popular as some other barn designs, their unique shape makes them noticeable. The years from 1880 to 1920 represent th ...

, which gained popularity in American agriculture. Crib barns were most often built of unchinked logs and may or may not have included a hay loft depending on the specific barn. Unaltered examples of crib barns usually have roofs covered with undressed wood

shingles Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. ...

, which, over time, were replaced with

tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

. It is the rustic appearance of crib barns that cause them to stand out.Auer, Michael J
The Preservation of Historic Barns
Preservation Briefs, National Park Service, first published October 1989. Retrieved 7 February 2007. The most popular type of crib barn built in the Appalachian states was also the simplest to construct considering its size and stability. The "Double Crib" consisted of two cribs separated by a breezeway and covered by the same roof. This type of barn is the most common in

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

. The doors in this type of crib barn face either front or in, toward the breezeway. The loft, as is typical with crib barns that have lofts, is used for storage of feed and hay in this design of crib barn while the first floor is used for stabling. The breezeway, which essentially acted as a driveway which entered the barn was often used for threshing grain.Historical Survey of Log Structures in Southern Appalachia
, Digital Library of Appalachia, Appalachian College Association Central Library. Retrieved 7 February 2007.

References

{{Reflist Barns in the United States Log buildings and structures in the United States

Design

See also

References