I love barns. I think everyone should. So much of our heritage, livelihood, even sense of place, finds its origins in a barn.
Our oldest barn, the bank barn, was probably constructed in the 1880s. It would have been built before our house, which was built in 1889. Settlers and farmers routinely built their barns first – building them larger and often stronger than the house they built for themselves.
So this Saturday, June 9, from 10am-4pm, our barns are part of the 6th Annual Frederick County Landmarks Foundation’s Barnstormers Tour. This year the tour centers on Buckeystown, and our barns have been selected to be among the 9 farms-worth of buildings being showcased.
The bank barn’s heavy timber skeleton is exposed inside the structure, where you can see that no nails were used in its construction. Every joint is pegged. It’s truly a marvel of engineering.
As you drive through the countryside over the summer, take note of how many barns you see. They are disappearing fast, but can be saved.
Our dairy barn has seen the greatest changes over the years. After the cows, it was used for storage. When we bought the property, the appraiser told us that the barns were a detriment to its value. But a little vision, a lot of investment, time, and energy, and this barn has become the heart of Chartreuse & co.
Sad truth: everyone who owns property with these old barns on them is being told by appraisers and insurance agents that they are a problem and should be destroyed.
This spectacular ceiling is what we found when we opened up the second floor of the dairy barn. This space was designed (and used for 90 years) as a storage space for hay. It was never intended to be beautiful, and yet look at how extraordinary it is! It still takes my breath away almost every time I come up the stairs.
Check out the Landmark Foundation’s site for details about the Barnstormers Tour, which will include docents at each of the 9 barns, explaining its history, functions, and construction. Artists will be at each barn, depicting its beauty in original artwork created on site. And the entire day will be capped off with refreshments and live music at Mayne’s Farm, where the artists renderings will be available for sale.
Tour admission is $15/person, under 16 is free. There is no charge to get into Chartreuse & co’s barns. Tickets will be on sale at Chartreuse & co.
Hope to see you this Saturday!
Thanks for reading,
Virginia
The Chartreuse Life 
These are gorgeous
Thanks so much! These barns have been in my family for over 70 years. I love them, and am so happy to share them with you.
thanks .. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!! How beautiful the Maryland barns are—can’t get enough of them. My son & his family live in Taneytown. We live in Illinois. Whenever we’re out there I always have my camera-love take picture’s of the barns out there. There all so unique!!!! Such a same that there’s people saying to tear them down. There part of our history & can’t be replaced! Found out about Chartreuse in a magazine–hope to visit on our next trip to Maryland!
Wish I could be there for the barn walk,sounds like a great time,
Sandi Schmidt 🙂
My father has even agreed to be here for the event to tell about growing up here in the 1940s when it was a full-fledged farm. He even has some film footage taken in 1942, the year they moved here. I’ll see if my technical skills are up to posting a portion of the video.
Thanks so much for your gracious comments. Hope to see you soon!
Virginia