BACKGROUND:

Started in 2004, this is an on-going project to catalog as many of the 100+ year old barns still remaining in Ontario County as possible. The aim is to identify their history, architecture and condition and to create a permanent set of records for the Ontario County Historical Society and for the Town/Village Historian and/or Historical Society. The records at OCHS will be totally digitized in a database for research purposes, and can be maintained at the Municipality in hard copy as well as digitized format.

PROCEDURES:

The steps being taken in the project, Municipality by Municipality, are as follows:

Phase I

• Use the 1904 Ontario County Atlas as an aid in identifying all of those barns that are still in existence.
• Photograph; Document the address, the present owner, the owner per the 1904 Atlas, and a general description.
• Fill out a detailed "Survey Form"

Phase II

• Where possible, take more detailed photos (inside and outside) to more definitely document the construction methods.
• Develop a short biography of the barn.
• Obtain details of other outbuildings on the property.

TRAINING:

Ray Henry, the Project Manager for OCHS, developed a short training session on the various types of old barn construction that was used in the past, for those who would be involved in performing the field research. Numerous training sessions have been conducted throughout Ontario County, but the researchers in many Towns are finding the project to be quite sizable. It is estimated that there are at least 1000 hundred year-old barns still existing in various conditions, from falling down to still good working barns to those converted to other uses.

HOW TO USE THIS SITE INFORMATION:

To assist in the continuation of the project this site contains the series of slides used by Ray in his presentations. With the assistance of the included "Survey Form" (which can be download, in PDF format or HTML format, for copying), the presentation of slides roughly follows the information asked for on the "Form", but without much explanation.

Interested parties may use this site to train researchers, or to obtain information directly from the barn owners. If you would like to schedule Ray Henry to provide a group presentation, please call the Ontario County Historical Society at 394-4975. The Historical Society would also like to receive on loan (for scanning) or by donation any old pictures of the barns that the owner may have.

For further information or questions email Ray Henry at rhenry@townofcanandaigua.org or rgbhenry@frontiernet.net