SAUCON VALLEY CONSERVANCY TO HOST ANNUAL BARN TOUR

Fascinated by the beautiful, historic barns dotting our landscape?
JOIN US!

Saturday, September 13, 2008
9:30 am – 5:00 pm (Rain or Shine)
Ticket admission: $25; $20 advance sales
Children 12 and younger are free but each child must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
 

Proceeds benefit the Heller Barn Preservation Fund.

Program starts at Beethoven Waldheim Club, 1984 Waldheim Road, Hellertown, PA
Admission includes two barn lectures, self-guided barn tour, map and tour guide
9:30 am Registration
10:00 am – 11:00 am Two Barn lectures
“An Oley Valley Barn Sampler”
Professor Robert F. Ensminger
“More Insight into Saucon Valley’s Barns”
Architectural Historian Gregory D. Huber
11:00 am – 11:30 am Book Signing:
Robert F. Ensminger
Gregory D. Huber
Jeffrey L. Marshall
11:30 am - 5:00 pm Self-guided Barn Tour

Call 610-216-0566 for more information

Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 Day of Tour
Purchase tickets in advance:
Weekdays 9 am -2 pm at Lower Saucon Town Hall
3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Lower Saucon Township
.Saturdays 1 pm – 4 pm and Sundays 12 pm - 3 pm at Heller Homestead
1890 -92 Friedensville Road (Water Street), Lower Saucon Township

By Mail: Ticket Order Form available on the website, http://www.sauconvalleyconservancy.org.

Click on “Barn Tour” and then click on download “Ticket Order Form”.

Mail order form and check made payable to: Saucon Valley Conservancy, P. O. Box 3, Hellertown, PA 18055. Requests must be received no later than September 10, 2008. Ticket(s) available day of event at registration

Day of Event Sales:
9:30 am - 11:30 am at the Beethoven Waldheim Club, 1984 Waldheim Road, Hellertown
11:30 am at Heller Homestead, 1890 – 92 Friedensville Road (Water Street), Lower Saucon Township

2008 Barn Tour Sponsors:
Conectiv Energy
Flat Iron Partners 

The Saucon Valley Conservancy will host its second annual barn lecture and barn tour on Saturday, September 13, 2008. This is a great opportunity for the public to learn about history and unique barn features from experts and tour a selection of historic barns, an important part of the area’s rich agricultural history. The barns dotting our landscape each tell a story of life on the farm, a way of life of the early settlers. The area was first settled in 1720 and was originally known as Saucon Township. It was established as part of Bucks County in 1742. County lines were changed in 1752 and the large township became part of Northampton County. In 1872, Hellertown Borough was incorporated. Step back in time with us as we pay tribute to our agricultural past and these magnificent barns. The money raised today will be earmarked for the preservation and restoration of the Michael Heller Barn.

The day begins with registration at 9:30 am at the Beethoven Waldheim Club, 1984 Waldheim Road, Hellertown followed by two lectures at 10 am on the barns of two valleys in southeast Pennsylvania by two widely recognized authorities on Pennsylvania barns – one by Robert F. Ensminger that concerns the barns of the Oley Valley of similar geologic origin to our area about 25 miles west of the Saucon Valley and the other by Gregory D. Huber that concerns certain local barns of the Saucon Valley that appear on the tour.

After the talks there will be an extensive self-guided tour of local barns that features nine homesteads spread among the rolling lands of the valley. A great diversity of barns will be experienced and will expand upon the excitement that was created in last year’s first annual barn tour that included eleven homestead barns of many types, shapes and sizes.

An early and unique English Lake District style log bank barn may be seen that was built right after the Revolutionary War. Other barns include striking examples of nineteenth century Standard fore-bay barns of distinctly different sizes that will satisfy even the greatest barn connoisseur. Five of these barns with fortress like stone walls almost steal the day’s show. The real show piece of the tour is a very rare local stone classic Switzer located just over the county border into Bucks County. These Switzers are common in the west counties but are progressively less frequently seen toward the Delaware River. Another genuine rarity is a four-bay frame Standard barn that features the early style English Principal Rafter System which is actually seen in four other tour barns.

An impressive collection of almost all the barn expressions seen in all of southeast Pennsylvania that are almost in your back-yard will occupy the full day’s event. We anticipate a great turn-out of many people in participating in the day’s festivities.

Tour participants will be given a souvenir Barn Tour guide which will provide a description of each barn and provide a map for the self-paced and self-guided tour. The barns may be visited in any order.

Authors Robert F. Ensminger, Gregory D. Huber and Jeffrey L. Marshall, will sign copies of their books after the lectures.

The Pennsylvania Barn, It's Origin, Evolution, and Distribution in North America" was written by Robert F. Ensminger, and published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1992. It was revised and enlarged in 2003. It details the 500 year history of the forebay bank barn from it's inception in eastern Switzerland to it's appearance in colonial southeastern Pennsylvania and it's subsequent evolution and diffusion across North America. A key contribution is the first comprehensive classification of the various forms of the Pennsylvania barn into a logical system of classes, types and subtypes. The form and function of the barn and resultant architectural and spatial manifestations are illustrated by numerous photographs, diagrams and maps. A look into the future of the Pennsylvania barn concludes the study.

"The New World Dutch Barn: The Evolution, Forms and Structure of a Disappearing Icon” by John Fitchen and Gregory D. Huber. The Second edition is an in-depth expansion of the first classic and seminal book by John Fitchen published in 1968. The new edition includes significant insights into Dutch-American barns such as to the nature of their true essence, various forms, provenance, European prototypes and use of framing technology, simplification processes, joinery, factors influencing dating and evolution, regionalisms, rebuilding and later reconstructions and their character and future.

“Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley” by Margaret Bye Richie, Geoffrey Gross, and Gregory Huber. The book is the first of its kind in several decades to illustrate the houses of the two areas with outstanding photographs by a remarkable architectural photographer. See the extraordinary array of early building styles that date back to the time of William Penn. Numerous others include mills, churches and houses that date from the first several decades of the eighteenth century. It is the greatest collection of the earliest structures in all of Pennsylvania.

“Barns of Bucks County” by Jeffrey L. Marshall and Willis M. Rivinus – is a pictorial guide to a rapidly disappearing American icon. The book’s 300 photographs highlight the variety of Bucks County’s barns from the early 18th century through the early 20th century. Highly illustrated text explains the variety of barn types found throughout the county and the adjoining counties of southeastern Pennsylvania. The book also depicts common barn construction features and different types of timber framing techniques that were used to create these castles in the fields. The book closes with commentary on the future of barns and includes a glossary and a quick identification guide.

The Saucon Valley Conservancy, an all volunteer non- profit organization, encourages historic preservation in our area and teaches people of all ages about our rich heritage. For a glimpse back in time, please stop by and visit the eighteenth century farmstead, the Michael Heller Homestead, eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, located at 1890 – 92 Friedensville Road (Water Street) in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County. Tours of the historic Heller Homestead are available by appointment.

Join us as we work with the National Barn Alliance and the Heritage Conservancy in saving historic barns. Members are invited to attend the HBFF of PA’s annual meeting and will receive a quarterly newsletter, along with free admission to HBFF of PA lectures and workshops, plus access to the Foundation’s information repository and data.