BY PATRICIA MORALE

A federally funded, statewide inventory of historical barns, termed the Vermont Barn Census, will determine how many barns are in Vermont and how many are being lost each year. The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (VACCD) has received a $150,000 federal grant that will allow this inventory of historical barns and will lay the foundation for efforts to preserve them.

No one knows for sure exactly how many historical barns are in Vermont, but this grant and barn inventory plan could change that. “We know Vermont has a rich agricultural heritage, and working landscapes draw visitors to the state,” said Governor Jim Douglas.“Preserving barns is an important part of strengthening both tourism and agriculture.”Douglas was on hand to announce the Preserve America grant that will help fund the Vermont Barn Census.

The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation is a division of the VACCD.They will recruit volunteers and students in each of Vermont’s 251 towns to identify barns and other agricultural buildings.The survey work will take place over several weekends in the spring of 2008, and these volunteers and students will use cameras and notebooks to document the barns.The VACCD will compile the data and put it on a Website, which the public can access to learn about barns in their town and throughout Vermont.

The Barn Census will occur mainly over the next year and a half, in the spring and fall of 2008, and the spring of 2009. Students from elementary to high school will be welcomed to participate. Volunteers will take a photo and some notes in the field, and then submit the data using the survey form on the Web. Local coordinators will help organize and support teams of volunteers who will be recognizable by their Barn Census logo T-shirts.People can survey one barn or many. A kickoff conference will be held in the spring of 2008, and a wrap-up celebration in the fall of 2009.

The VACCD is also hoping the inventory will help raise interest in the historic structures and help set priorities on which ones would need to be repaired first.The Vermont Division for Historic Preservation has a separate program called Barn Preservation Grants, which provide owners of barns with matching funds up to $10,000 to stabilize and repair barns.

The VACCD has a goal to serve the Vermont public by “enhancing the Vermont business climate, marketing Vermont to tourists and others, and strengthening Vermont communities.”It does this through three major State departments comprised of the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Tourism and Marketing, and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Debra Sayers is the coordinator of the project for the Division of Historic Preservation.“Barns survive today as both a firm connection to our cultural heritage, and as an integral part of our working landscape,” she explained. “Today barns are at the forefront of public consciousness, as with this past winter’s late snowfall a number of barns were lost to collapsing roofs. Still more barns are lost every year to deterioration and demolition. Perhaps at no other time has there been more momentum and enthusiasm for inventorying one of the state’s most iconic historic resources,” Sayer said. “The comprehensive Barn Census will result in heightened awareness for these threatened historic resources and will inspire creative solutions for barn preservation.”

The Department of Historic Preservation will be working in conjunction with the Mount Holly Barn Preservation Association.The Mount Holly Barn Preservation Association was formed in 2005. The group wrote grants, raised funds, and mobilized volunteers.

The community of Mount Holly (population 1,241) found all of the historic barns in town (52), determined that 20 were in need of some work, and that five were urgently in need of immediate attention. As a result, two barns that were in danger of total or partial collapse were stabilized. Spreading barn walls were cabled together, barn interiors were cleaned out, dumpsters were filled, and grounds were cleared and graded.These activities provided access to the barns so that repairs could be made and future work planned.

SaveVermont Barns (SVB) is a project that will assist the Department of Historic Preservation and other towns to use the Mount Holly model and to become part of the statewide force for barn preservation. The SVB project has three parts. The Survey (or census) of barns includes finding, counting, and briefly evaluating the condition of the structure. The Assessment includes identifying the architecture, previous use, condition, and preservation status. The Share Results part of the process is the pooling of results with those of other Vermont towns to create a database that can become a powerful tool for statewide barn preservation.

Interested parties can e-mail debra.sayers@state.vt.us or call (802) 828-3213 to get on the mailing list for the Vermont Barn Census.The location is National Life Building, Drawer 20, Montpelier, VT 05620.