Plum Ridge Academy
Nescopeck PA
2007

The Bank Barn derives its name from being built into the side of hill, thus permitting direct entry on two levels. The lower level houses animals, while the upper level serves as storage and a threshing area. The upper hillside entrance provides easy access to wagons carrying hay or wheat.

A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn noted for its accessibility, at ground level, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill or bank, the upper and the lower floors could be accessed from ground level, one area at the top of the hill and the other at the bottom. The second level of a bank barn could also be accessed from a ramp if a hill was unavailable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_barn

In the Pennsylvania barn, the upper floor was a hayloft and the lower a stable area. The barn doors were typically on the sidewall. With William Penn's promise of freedom and inexpensive land, many settlers came to Pennsylvania. Among these settlers were the Germans, who began to build bank barns on their land. Many other settlers followed this practice, and it was soon the most common type of barn in Pennsylvania during the colonial era. The Pennsylvania Barn is a specific type of bank barn with a forebay, a projecting floor on one or more sides of the barn. All forebay barns are bank barns, but not all bank barns are forebay barns. Robert F. Ensminger, in his book The Pennsylvania barn: its origin, evolution, and distribution in North America, identifies three basic types of Pennsylvania barn: the Sweitzer, standard, and extended.


The image of a quaint red barn against green grass is as American as apple pie, but where does the tradition come from? Although there are many myths about their rusty hue, early-day barns were painted red out of convenience and frugality.
One belief is that barns are red so a farmer's cows can find their way home, but if so, that's a failed strategy cattle are colorblind to the colors red and green .

Others believe the popularity of red barns came from copying Scandinavian farmers, who painted their properties in rusty hues so that they would appear to be made of brick, a material they considered to be a sign of wealth.

But barns weren't originally red in fact, they weren't painted at all. The early farmers that settled in New England didn't have much extra money to spend on paint , so most of their barns remained unpainted. By the late 1700s, farmers looking to shield their barns' wood from the elements began experimenting with ways to make their own protective paint.

A recipe consisting of skimmed milk, lime and red iron oxide created a rusty-colored mixture that became popular among farmers because it was cheap to make and lasted for years. Farmers were able to easily obtain iron oxide the compound that lends natural red clay its coppery color from soil. Linseed oil derived from flax plants was also used to seal bare wood against rotting, and it stained the wood a dark coral hue.

Farmers also noticed that painting their barns with the homemade paint kept the buildings warmer during the wintertime, since the darker color absorbs the sun's rays more than plain, tan wood. So red paint spread in popularity due to its functionality and convenience, becoming an American tradition that continues to this day.