Barns of New York

G. Falk Cynthia

Description

Barns of New York explores and celebrates the agricultural and architectural diversity of the Empire State-from Long Island to Lake Erie, the Southern Tier to the North Country-providing a unique compendium of the vernacular architecture of rural New York. Through descriptions of the appearance and working of representative historic farm buildings, Barns of New York also serves as an authoritative reference for historic preservation efforts across the state.Cynthia G. Falk connects agricultural buildings-both extant examples and those long gone-with the products and processes they made and make possible. Great attention is paid not only to main barns but also to agricultural outbuildings such as chicken coops, smokehouses, and windmills. Falk further emphasizes the types of buildings used to support the cultivation of products specifically associated with the Empire State, including hops, apples, cheese, and maple syrup.Enhanced by more than two hundred contemporary and historic photographs and other images, this book provides historical, cultural, and economic context for understanding the rural landscape. In an appendix are lists of historic farm buildings open to the public at living history museums and historic sites. Through a greater awareness of the buildings found on farms throughout New York, readers will come away with an increased appreciation for the state's rich agricultural and architectural legacy.

Sujets

• Nueva York
• Local history
• History of the Americas
• New York
• Architecture

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801463983
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

Barns of New York

BarnsofNewYork

RuralArchitectureof the Empire State

CynthiaG.Falk

CornellUniversityPress IthacaandLondon

Publication of this book was made possible, in part, by a generous grant from Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund. Copyright © 2012 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2012 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2012

Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Falk, Cynthia G.  Barns of New York: rural architecture of the Empire State / Cynthia G. Falk. cm. p.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801477805 (pbk.: alk. paper)  1. Barns—New York (State) 2. Farm buildings—New York (State) I. Title. NA8230.F35 2012  725'.37209747—dc23 2011034817 Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 1

2

Tomyparents,JimandBettyLayton,whointroducedmetohistory, rural landscapes, and the great state of New York

Preface

Introduction

Contents

1.Diversity,Dairying,andDesigningtheMainBarn

2.ShelteringtheFlock,ProcessingtheProduct

3.FromHaystackstoSilos

4.AFarmBuildingforEveryPurpose

5.PoweringtheFarm

PlacestoVisit

Notes Glossary FurtherReading Index

ix

1 21 69 107 135 183

203 227 253 259 261

Preface

Thepictureofthefarmcanbemadesopleasing,andtheideaofgoing back to Nature as the source of all sustenance so ingratiating, that it would be possible to build up an effective philosophy on the principle that the architecture of the home should be made to resemble the architecture of the farm, rather than the other way about.

AlfredHopkins,Modern Farm Buildings,1913

ImaginetheiconicbuildingsofNewYorkState.Likelywhatcomestomindare New York City’s skyscrapers, towering on Manhattan Island. Perhaps colonial Dutch houses or larger nineteenthcentury mansions located along the Hudson River sur face from a memory bank of celebrated structures. Most people do not think of dairy barns or their accompanying silos when they picture the Empire State’s majestic buildings. Architectdesigned masterpieces trump the utilitarian structures used by farmers to store crops and machinery, house animals, and process various products. Yet agricultural buildings can tell us more about New York State’s history and cul ture than the oneofakind landmarks that are so often pictured in architectural histories and tourist guidebooks. Agricultural buildings convey a sense of beauty in their own right and, despite their apparent commonality, exemplify ingenious design and craftsmanship that pairs form and function. InthisbookIchallengeourinclinationtoadmireonlytheexceptional,thear tistic, and the urban by celebrating barns and the farmers whose labor shaped these buildings. Barns are indeed tangible reminders of past people, places, processes, and practices. They also continue to be used in the present; old buildings still serve tra ditional functions or are adapted to help farmers perform new ones even as modern