Ira Fox Double Log Crib Switzer
Secreted away in extreme western Berks County in Bethel Township on a back farm lane several hundred yards south of Routes 78 – 22 is a barn that evokes distant memories of a barn construction type that was at one time a commonplace occurrence in rural southeast Pennsylvania. Now in the early twenty-first century the bank barn of double log crib type at the Ira Fox homestead farm on the west side of Deck Drive is a rarity. Its form is a log Switzer – a two level barn with two log cribs. As a full building and vernacular construction type it is one of the most complete and original barns in all of Berks County. Later additions appear at each end wall of the barn.
As an example of a Switzer the Fox barn has an asymmetrical roof silhouette where the distinctive front frame extension or fore-bay creates the barn class. This barn type whose earliest cousins likely initially appeared on the landscape in the middle third of the eighteenth century is in marked contrast to the later style Standard fore-bay barn that has a symmetrical roof. With exterior dimensions at 49 feet long and 25 feet wide the Fox barn is medium sized. The separate front fore-bay is of normal width – 7 feet. The roof pitch is rather steep.
The original section of barn is of three-bay construction – a middle wagon or threshing bay and two log cribs – each about 16 feet wide. At the front of the wagon floor the big wagon doors appear to be very old or possibly original. The entire floor is original with a few planks up to 16 inches wide. Roof support timbers or rafters are 16 in number and all are hewn. The logs of both cribs are good sized but it is the bottom logs that face the wagon floor that are massive – one is 21 inches thick and the other is 24 inches thick. The distinctive notching of the logs at the corners is referred to as full dove-tail type. This type of notching is common in the western half of Berks County and areas to the west. This is in contrast to the inverted V notching seen in both barns and houses that is common in eastern Berks County and points east. The door that leads to the granary is original and has very unusual wrought hinges. The presence of cut nails with square heads on horizontal boards of the granary indicates a likely date of construction in the post 1815 era.
Submitted by Greg Huber – September 16th 2008
Past Perspectives – specializing in House Histories