Comments on: Red barns

Question: Red barns

lag — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 20:24:33 -0800

Being a city person, I am curious about why so many barns on the farms I see when driving around the country are painted red. Why is the color red seem to be the most common barn color? Or, is it just the farm neighborhoods I have been through? LAG

By: Coffeemate

Coffeemate — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 20:27:44 -0800

Google: Why are barns red?
1
2
Linseed oil and blood or rust.

By: undertone

undertone — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 21:26:11 -0800

Red paint used to be the cheapest.

By: jmgorman

jmgorman — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 21:43:46 -0800

still is at farm stores

By: nathan_teske

nathan_teske — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:52:43 -0800

... and now most barns are red because most barns have always been red. FWIW our barn has been white for the last 70 odd years.

By: growabrain

growabrain — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 01:22:25 -0800

"Google Answers" had a question recently about red country one room schoolhouses with nice samples -

By: misteraitch

misteraitch — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 03:29:12 -0800

Further to one of the points mentioned in coffeemate’s second link, above: here in Sweden a great many farmhouses, barns & vacation homes are painted with Faluröd: a red paint made in the copper-mining town of Falun, the use of which apparently goes back to the 16th Century. Faulröd has traditionally had the twin virtues of being dirt cheap and very durable.

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 04:17:48 -0800

Well, my mom remembers when barns in Vermont were not painted at all. It was the talk of the village when one farmer painted his big barn (yes, red) back in the '50s. Now, most everyone does (if they're still farming).

You might be able to roughly date paintings of rural scenes by whether the barns are painted, if you knew the location of the scene depicted.