• Historic Barns of North Dakota, statewide listing
• Lund Scandinavian Lutheran Church of Willow Lake Township, Steel County [Lost]
• Sarles Public School, Sarles, Cavalier County [In Progress]

Reilly Double-barn rural Crystal, Pembina County

A case in point is the 1914 double barn on the Clyde and Carol Reilly farm, rural Crystal in Pembina County. The barns, joined together at the hip so to speak, are an attraction to tourists who frequently stop along the highway to take photos of the unique structure. The owners have researched the architecture and have not located another barn like it. It is falling down from age, neglect and weather. It needs immediate attention to save the unique features and craftsmanship. The barn was designed with the adjoining roofs to channel rainwater into a cistern for the animals.

J. E. Johnson Barn rural Kintyre, Emmons County

The 1912 gambrel-roof barn with dual lean-to additions on the J. E. Johnson homestead, at rural Kintyre in Emmons County, is also in need of assistance. The Johnson homestead is one of the few intact early 1900 farmsteads remaining in the area. The farm is vacant and the buildings are deteriorating without proper care, due to lack of funds. Other buildings on the homestead include a 1913 two-story house, a 5 bin wood granary on a stone foundation and a blacksmith shop.

Lesmeister Barn, Halliday, Dunn County

Another barn that is in much better condition, but still endangered, is a dairy barn located on the east edge of Halliday in Dunn County. The barn was built between 1915 and 1917. Allan and Arthur Hedger milked up to 40 cows by hand, and delivered milk to the residents of Halliday on foot. The barn is now used for hay storage and housing of weaning calves by Leo Lesmeister who is the current owner. Leo takes pride in keeping the barn painted and in good repair, but the shingles were damaged by a tornado in 1977 and he doesn't know if he can afford to replace it. Mary Humstone, former assistant director of the National Trust's Mountain/Plains Regional Office and co-founder of their BARN AGAIN! Preservation program, now a private consultant, observes that barns are powerful symbols. They fascinate tourists and travelers who romanticize farm life. "But most important is how much barns mean to the farmers. They frequently talk about their grandfathers' building a barn and describe how the barn represents the place where they worked side by side with their fathers". A growing agri-tourism industry is helping today's farm families by drawing more and more tourists to the farm to enjoy products and activities provided on traditional family farms.

Historic barns can be adapted for new farming uses ranging from dairy, hog, and cattle operations to machinery or grain storage. Barn preservation techniques have proven to be cost-effective alternatives to tearing down the old barn and putting up a new building. John Walter of Successful Farming Magazine and co-founder of the BARN AGAIN! preservation program says, "Our statistics show that farmers save more than two dollars for every dollar spent rehabilitating an older barn".

A growing "sustainable agriculture" movement is also helping to provide a new life for these old barns. This movement includes organic, natural, value-added and local market production. Higher profit margins for these new "niche" products are making small-scale farming viable again in many areas. These new agriculture producers often use traditional farming methods that fit well with historic structures.

For more information on the BARN AGAIN! Program and barn preservation techniques, contact Preservation North Dakota at 701-633-2763 or the National Trust for Historic Preservation at 303-623-1504