inventory manual 1 - green county, wi historical society · shadows are greater. mid-day is...
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GreenCounty,Wisconsin
BarnInventoryManual
IntroductionDespitetherichstockofhistoricbarnsintheWisconsinlandscape,weseefewerattemptstosavethem.Thethreatstothesebuildingsaremany,includingurbangrowthanditsassociatedroadwayexpansion,impropermaintenanceandupkeep,andnewconstructiontechniques,materials,anddesign.TheGreenCounty,WisconsinBarnStudybeganinlate2015whenlocalhistorian,author,andmemberoftheBoardoftheDirectorsoftheGreenCountyHistoricalSociety,KimTschudyapproachedtheGreenCountyHistoricalSocietyregardingabarnandfarmsteadsurveythathasbeentakingplaceinMichigansince1992.TheSocietyagreedthattraditionalbarnsaremarvelousstructures,havegreatvalue,andaredisappearingatanalarmingrate.Movingfromindividualenthusiasmandisolatedeffortstodevelopingawiderpreservationendeavorrequiresbasiccurrentinformation.Atthebeginningoftheproject,virtuallynofactualinformationexistedaboutthenumberandgeneralconditionofstructuresstillstandingonGreenCounty’srapidlydwindlingfarmsteads.Thisissomethingthatwehopetorectifybyconductingthissurvey.Kimhasbeenreachingouttolocalgroups,organizations,andindividualstooutlinetheproject.TheresponsehasbeenoverwhelmingandenthusiasmovertheprojecthasbeenspreadingthroughoutGreenCounty.Wehopethatthisprojectwillcontinuetogainenthusiasmovertime.Youand/oryourgroupcanaddsignificantlytoourknowledgeandunderstandingofbarnsandfarmsteadsinGreenCounty.Itisourwishthatparticipants,youngandoldalike,willdevelopadeeperappreciationoftraditionalfarmbuildingsandtherichagriculturalandcommunityheritagetheyrepresent.ThematerialsfortheprojectanditscontentscouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutguidancefromtheMichiganBarnandFarmsteadSurveyproject.ToobtainadditionalinformationortocontacttheGreenCountyHistoricalSociety,pleasevisitourwebsiteatwww.greencountywihistoricalsociety.com.
PurposesoftheSurvey
• Identifyanddocumentruralbuildingsandfarmsteadsthatcontributesignificantlytotheuniquecharacterofacommunityorillustrateitsagriculturaldevelopment.
• Heightenawarenessoftherapiddeclineoftraditionalfarmbuildingsasafirststeptowardthedevelopmentofapreservationplan.
• Helpparticipantsandothersinthecommunitygainagreaterappreciation
forthevalueofagriculturalstructuresandtheheritagetheyrepresent.
• Createastandardnomenclaturethatdescribesandclassifieshistoricvernacularagriculturalstructures.
• Putintouseamethodoffielddocumentationforagriculturalvernacular
structuresthatcanbereplicatedthroughoutGreenCounty,Wisconsin.
• EstablishadatabaseofinformationaboutGreenCounty’sagriculturalbuildings.
PlanningYourSurvey
DecidingWhoWillDotheSurveyYoucanregisterforthebarnsurveyasanindividualorsmallgrouporteam.Itispossibleforthosewhowanttoconductthesurveyindividuallytodosoasaloneindividual.Thishasproventobeasuccessfulmethodofcompletingthesurvey,althoughit'srecommendedforsafetyreasonstohaveapersonfocusedonthedriving.Asmallteamorlargergroupcanalsodothesurvey.Youmaychoosetoestablishasurveyteamofthreetotwentyindividuals.Contacttheactiveorganizationsinyourareathatshareaninterestinruralheritage.ConsideryourcountyExtensionofficeand4-Hyouthprogram,localschools,civicgroups,localhistoricalsociety,FutureFarmersofAmerica,andscouts.Dividethegroupintosurveyteamsoftwoorthreepeople.Onesurveyteamcanbeexpectedtosurveyone,two,orthreesectionsofatownship.Matchupdriversandgoodphotographerswitheachsurveyteam.Advertiseyourprojectinthelocalmedia,andholdaninformationalmeetingforthoseinterested.
DecidingWheretoSurveyThekeytoconductingthissurveyistobeconsistentandthoroughinadefinedgeographicarea.Chooseonetownshiporothergeographicarea,suchastheboundariesofacityeveniftheboundariesextendintodifferenttownships.Definetheboundariesonamap.Thegoalofthesurveyistofindanddocumentallthefarmsteadswithintheboundaries.Thesurveyteamsshouldcoverallroadswithinthedefinedsurveyarea.Therearevariouskindsofmapstouseforthesurvey.Youmightlookataplatmaptoseehowsectionsarethebuildingblocksoftownships.Asectionisonemilebyonemileinsize.Atownshipissixsectionsbysixsections.Therearethirty-sixsectionsinmosttownships.Donottrytocovertoolargeanarea.
DecidingWhentoSurveyPlantosurveyinearlyspringorfallifpossible.Foliagethatobstructstheviewofbuildingsisminimalatthesetimes.Wintersnowcancauseglareinphotosandhideroofsandotherstructuraldetails.Conductthesurveyoverasingleshortperiod-forexample,ononeweekendorduringonemonth.Chooseadaythatisnottoosunny,butduringgoodweather.Theheatislessinthemorningandafternoonbuttheshadowsaregreater.Mid-dayisprobablythebesttimeforphotography.Ofcourseanovercastdaywouldeliminateshadowsbutwhiteroofsblendinwiththehazysky.
WhatYouWillNeedBesurethesurveyorsunderstandthepurposeofthesurvey.Itmaybethesamepurposestatedinthismanualandsomeofyourown,localpurposes,buteveryone
shouldknowandbeabletostatethepurposeofyourbarnsurvey.Obtaingoodlocalroadmapswithasmuchdetailaspossibleforyoursurveyors.Contactyourcountygovernmentofficetoseewhatfreemapsareavailable.Providearoadmapforeachsurveyteam.Becarefulnottoviolatecopyrightlawsbymakingillegalphotocopiesofmaps.U.S.GeologicalSurveytopographicmapsshowruralroadways,elevation,andbuildingsinrelationtolandformsandbodiesofwater.Roadmapsnameevensmallroads.Platmapsmadebyprivatecompaniesshowpropertyboundariesandidentifylandownersbutnotnecessarilycurrentresidents.YoumayrefertoaplatmapatyourcountyExtensionofficeorlibrary,orpurchaseoneforyourreference.Surveyteamsshouldplantravelroutesthatsystematicallycoverallpropertyinthesurveyarea.Makesureeveryonehasacopyofthetravelplansoduplicationiseliminated.
SupplyList• Notebookorclipboard
• Plentyofblanksurveyforms
• Camerabatteries
• Cameramemorycard(s)
• CD'sforstorageofdigitalphotos
• Pencilsand/orpens
• Mapsofthesurveyarea
• Travelplan
• Letterofintroduction
• Acopyofthismanual
• AcopyoftheVisualGlossary
OtherHelpfulItems• GPSunit
• Compass
• Cellphone
• Binoculars
ConductingtheSurveyUsethisguidetoidentifyanddocumentthebarnsandfarmsteadsinyourdefinedsurveyarea.Surveyorsshouldworkinpairsorsmallteams.It'srecommendedtonotsurveyalone.Eachteamcandivideupthetasksofdrivingthecar,locatingandmarkingthefarmsteadonamap,takingphotographs,fillingoutthesurveyform,usingaGPSdevice,anddrawingasitemap.Caution!Becarefuloftrafficwhileyouarewalkingandcrossingroadsandwhiledriving.Pullofftothesideoftheroadtoasafelocationwhenstoppingtosurveyasite.Itisbesttogetoutofthecartodocumentandphotographthesite.Takeonecolorphotographofeachfarmthatshowsallthebuildingsontheproperty.Takeadditionalphotographsofeachfarmsteadstructure,includingresidences,largebarns,andsmalleroutbuildings.Ifyouareableto,makeaseparatesetofphotographsfortheMSUMuseum,andaseparatecopyforyourlocalarchive.Usethefollowingcriteriatodeterminewhichpropertiestosurvey.Identifyandrecord:(1)allbarnsthatarefiftyyearsoldorolder;(2)allsitesthatareidentifiableasfarmsteads,eveniftheyaremostlyruins,and(3)barnsmeetingthepreviouscriteriawithinapredeterminedgeographicarea(country,township).
InstructionsforCompletingSurveyFormsFillouttheinformationontheformusingthefollowingdirections.TheVisualGlossary,below,describesthepartsofthefarmstead.Useoneformforeachpropertydocumented.Forpropertiesthathavemorethanonelargebarnoranybuildingsnotnamedonthesurvey,useanewformtodescribetheadditionalstructures.SURVEYOR:Givethefullnameofeachpersonsurveyingthesite.DATE:Givetheexactdateonwhichthepropertywassurveyed.Spellouttheentiremonthandusenumeralsforthedateandthefour-digityear.Example:June1,2010.PROPERTY#:Assigneachsitesurveyedauniquenumberusinganumberingsystemforyourwholegroup.Eachteammaynumberpropertiesinnumericalorderbeginningwiththenumber1.Thenre-numbertheentiregroup'sformswithanewnumber.PROPERTYADDRESS:Givetheaddressoftheproperty,includinghousenumberorboxnumber,andstreetname.Ifanumbercannotbedetermined,giveatleastthenameofthestreet.OWNER'SNAME:Ifknown,givetheowner'sname.OWNER'SADDRESS:Ifknown,recordtheowner'smailingaddress,ifdifferentthanthepropertyaddress.Ifitisthesameasthepropertyaddress,write'same.'
BUILDER’SNAME:Listthepropertybuilder’sname,ifknown.TOWNSHIP:Listthenameofthetownshipinwhichthepropertyislocated.SECTION(optional):Givethesectionnumberofthetownshipinwhichthepropertyislocated.Refertoacountyplatmaportopographicmaptoidentifythesectionnumber.Miscellaneousitemsthatcanbelistedontheform:GISCOORDINATES(GeographicInformationSystem):WithaGPS(GlobalPositioningSystem)unit,ifyouareusingone,listtheGIScoordinatesforthesite.IfyoudonothaveaGPSunitinthefield,whenyoureturn,youmaylookuptheGIScoordinatebyusinganInternetsite(suchaswww.gpsvisualizer.com)thatprovidesthecoordinatesbasedontheaddress.COMMONNAME:Indicateifthefarmsteadorbarnisknownlocallybyaspecificname,orifthereisanamepaintedonabarnorotherbuilding.CONDITION:Indicatetheconditionofeachbuilding,usingthefollowingguide:Good—Theroofcoveringappearstobeinweather-tightconditionandthestructurehasnoapparentbrokenormissingelements.Novisiblestructuralproblems.Vegetationisundercontrol.Fair—Showssomesignsofdeterioration,evidenceofminorroofleaks,somemissingorbrokenparts.Poor—Obviousmajorroofleaks,evidenceofmajorstructuralproblems,extensivebrokenormissingparts.Extensive,unwantedvegetation.Altered—Visiblyobviousthatabuildinghasbeenpartiallyremoved,addedto,orchanged.Ruins—Rangingfromfaintevidencethatastructurehadexisted(suchasfoundationwallsorafewtimbers)tocompletestandingstructurefarbeyondrepair.Evidenceoflong-timeneglectwithexcessivevegetation.Indangeroffallingdown.BARNSECTION:Usethissectiontodescribethelargestbarn.Ifthereismorethanonebarn,useadditionalforms.RefertotheVisualGlossarytoidentifyarchitecturalfeatures.Usethecheckboxestorecordthecondition,roofshape,roofcovering,sidingmaterials,foundationtype,andfoundationmaterials.Notetheexistenceofanyotherarchitecturalfeatures.Indicatewhetherornotthebarnispainted.Ifpainted,indicatethecolorofthepaint.Ifanynames,dates,ordecorationsappearonthebarn,writethemhere.
FARMHOUSESECTION:Describethemainresidencebyrecordingthecondition,roofshape,roofcovering,sidingmaterials,foundationmaterials,andpaintcolor.Noteanyotherarchitecturalfeaturesyouthinkareimportant.OTHERFARMSTEADSTRUCTURES:Foreachexistingstructure,checktheappropriateboxtoindicatecondition.Then,usingtheVisualGlossary,describethetypesofroof,siding,andfoundation.Commentonanyadditionalfeaturessuchaspaintcolor,windows,numberofdormers,andanyinterestingorunusualfeatureaboutthebuilding.Ifsuchastructuredoesnotexist,checktheN/A(notapplicable)box.SKETCH:Drawasimplelinedrawingofthelayoutofthefarmstead,asthoughlookingatitfromabove,showingthefarmsteadstructuresinrelationtoeachother.Drawandlabeltheroad.Drawoutlineboxesforeachfarmsteadbuilding.Forthebarn,drawtheplanor'footprint'ofthebuilding.RefertotheVisualGlossaryfortypicalbarnplans.Drawanarrowindicatingnorth.