Why Are Barns Typically Red In The Inland Northwest? Does Is Symbolize Something?
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I have always wondered this and have never known.
Tags: Are, Barns, Red, Typically, Why
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on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 4:39 am and is filed under Barns.
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Actually…barns aren’t REALLY red. I looked into this and when I found out what the real reason was, it seemed really practical.
Apparently, on Dairy farms, 2 things are abundant…cows and materiels for fixing fences. (nails) Nails rust, and there’s always milk around, especially if you have a bull to service the cows. If you take a large handful of nails and leave them to rust in milk, that turns the milk rust red, and you use that red milk-sour mess later to paint the barn. It attracts the flies after awhile away from the house as well, which is where Coke Bottle flie traps come from. Flies smell the sweet Coke syrup concoction of Ol’ Doc Pemberton and end up in the bottle thru a funnel. They just can’t fly back out, get tired. and end up drowning in the Coke left in the bottle.
Could be. I know the tradional “hexes” (the big x on the barns) were painted there for protection. I’m assuming it’s no mistake that the red color was so common.
Well, I can say this. Traditionally among the Pennsylvania Deutsch (what most people think of as Amish) barns are painted red to signify good fortune and to ward off bad luck. Almost all barns in Pennsylvania and New England are red. I can only assume the tradition was picked up and carried west as the early Americans colonized the western United States territories.
Well, according to my Dad (and I grew up on a small family farm) - Red is a “warmer” color - so maybe barns painted red kept the animals warmer when they resided in the barns in the winter? Our large barn isn’t red, but the smaller one where a few animals at a time were kept when inside was painted red.
But then, my Dad likes to tease me and tell me tall tales often, so that may be totally off base.
But, I thought about it recently and thought there might actually be something to it - because I have two shirts, the same brand, style, cut, same fabric - the only difference is one is black and grey and the other is black and red. And during a cold week not long ago - I noticed I was warmer when I wore the black & red shirt vs. the same one in black & grey. Hmmm.
It is because red paint is cheaper (or at least it was).
I know it sounds stupid, but subposedly its the truth.
the people like the color red