Barn Tour - Saucon Valley Conservancy Heller Homestead ...

Barn Tour

Saucon Valley Conservancy Barn Tour September 11, 2010

Proceeds benefit the Sponsored by
Heller Barn Preservation Fund

“Help us save
another treasure.”



2010 Barn Tour Sponsored by Calpine

Elite Sponsor:
C. F. Martin & Co

Star Sponsor:
IESI Bethlehem Landfill Corporation
A Friend of the Saucon Valley Conservancy

Partner Sponsor:
Hanover Engineering Associates, Inc.

Keynote Speakers Barn Owners Benefactors
and Barn Tour Consultants Beethoven Waldheim Club Dr. & Mrs. Harry Light
Professor Robert F. Ensminger Donna Bristol
Gregory D. Huber, Architectural Lower Saucon Township DataWorks International, Inc.
Historian Stephen & Deborah Nowicki deLeon Excavating & Construction
Stephen & Karen Paul Priscilla & Leon deLeon
Barn Descriptions & Glossary Bruce & Ginger Petrie John Milner Associates, Inc.
of Barn Terms: Mike & Kim Culver Robertson Barbara Ryan Hausman
Gregory Huber, owner, Past Perspectives Mary Ann & Thomas Rowe
& Eastern Barn Consultants Barn Tour Ticket Sales
Bechtold’s Orchard
Map & Homestead Buildings Heller Homestead
and Grounds: Lower Saucon Township
Lower Saucon Township

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish to extend our deepest appreciation
and gratitude to all who made the Fourth Annual Barn Tour a success. Because of
the tremendous support of our sponsors and volunteers, we have started work on
the Heller Barn Stabilization project. We extend special thanks to the barn owners
who graciously opened their barn doors for you to walk back in time as you learn
about the unique architecture which makes these barns worthy of our tour. Sincere
appreciation and respect goes out to our renowned speakers who can’t say enough
about our barns and the importance of preserving these treasures for the future. We
gratefully acknowledge all the committee members and volunteers who spent many
hours planning this event to raise awareness and funding for the preservation and
restoration of the Heller Barn.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Priscilla deLeon, President and Co-Founder, Saucon Valley Conservancy

The 2010 Barn Tour is dedicated to all those who gave their time and talents
to preserve your community’s precious historic resources

page 3

Preservation of the Heller Barn Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, HABS, Reproduction number HABS PA, 48-HELLT, 1A-3

The money raised today will be earmarked for the This is the original early 1940s photo of the Heller homestead
preservation and restoration of the Michael Heller Barn. barn complex, a circa 1790 English Lake District barn with a
Until February of 1998, all four sides of the stone barn stone addition. An unusual front wall stone arch existed at the
complex stood erect. In the aftermath of a severe storm, north end and a large Civil War era frame section was at the
a portion of the roof collapsed. Deeming it a danger, south end.
township officials decided to bring down all but about
one-third of the barn. Fortunately, the very unusual stone For more information, please call 610-216-0566.
arch was saved from the demolition and stands proudly
amongst the ruins of this large English Lake District barn www.sauconvalleyconservancy.com
in Saucon Valley.
The mission of the Saucon Valley Conservancy is to pre-
The Saucon Valley Conservancy is currently in the process serve the historic and natural environment of the Sau-
of stabilizing and preserving the barn ruins for future reuse con Valley as an educational and recreational resource
and site interpretation purposes. John Milner Associates, for area citizens and visitors. The major stewardship of
Inc. (JMA), working with Keast & Hood, has developed the Conservancy is the Michael Heller Homestead and
an Emergency Stabilization Plan for the ruins. The Con- the Saucon Creek corridor.
servancy has recently awarded the work of stabilizing the
arched entrance portion of the ruin to Premier Building Event overview
Restoration, Inc., a highly qualified and experienced ma-
sonry restoration firm. The masonry work will focus on the Enjoy the unique experience of touring inside some of
stone arch and will entail reinforcing the door lintel, partial the wonderful old barns along our rural roads in the Sau-
rebuilding, and repointing with a traditional lime mortar. con Valley area. Each barn is an experience all of its own.
This project was financed [in part] by a grant from the The barns dotting our landscape tell a story of life on
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Commu- the farm and a way of life belonging to early settlers. The
nity and Economic Development sponsored by Pennsylva- area, first settled in 1720, was originally known as Saucon
nia State Representative Bob Freeman, State Representative Township. It was established as part of Bucks County in
Karen Beyer and State Senator Lisa Boscola. 1742. County lines were changed in 1752 and the large
township became part of Northampton County. In 1872,
With your help, we can preserve a part of the agricultural the Borough of Hellertown was incorporated.
heritage of the Saucon Valley and restore a former ver-
nacular barn treasure before the ruins are beyond repair, Step back in time with us as we pay tribute to our agricul-
and our local history crumbles away. tural past through these magnificent barns. The money
raised will be earmarked for the preservation and resto-
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. If you cherish history and want to preserve the
character of Saucon Valley, please join the Saucon Valley
Conservancy.

For a glimpse back in time, please stop by and visit the
eighteenth century farmstead, the Michael Heller Home-
stead, listed on the National Register of Historic Places,
located at 1890 – 92 Friedensville Road (Water Street)
in Lower Saucon Township, Northampton County. Our
Heller Homestead Art Gallery and Antiques & Collect-
ibles Gift Shop are open weekends and special events.

Tours of the historic Heller Homestead are available
by appointment.

page 4

ration of the Michael Heller Barn. The Fourth Annual their origins in Europe , dating back to the seventeenth
Barn Tour is hosted by the Saucon Valley Conservancy. century. His book first published in 1992 and revised in
2003, The Pennsylvania Barn: Its Origins Evolution and
The day begins with registration and a book signing at Distribution in North America, is a widely regarded classic.
9:30 am at the Beethoven Waldheim Club, 1984 Wald- In addition to the book, Ensminger has written several
heim Road in Lower Saucon Township, followed by two articles on the Pennsylvania barn including the much
lectures at 10:00 am. This is a great opportunity for the acclaimed – “A Search for the Origin of the Pennsylvania
public to learn about history and unique barn features Barn” that appeared in Pennsylvania Folk-life – Winter
from two widely recognized experts on Pennsylvania 1980-1981. Bob has been studying the Pennsylvania
barns, and tour a selection of historic barns that are an barn since the mid 1970s and has examined thousands
important part of the area’s rich agricultural history. of barns, not only in his native state of Pennsylvania , but
in more than fifteen other states. Bob is a retired profes-
The extensive self-guided and self-paced tour of local sor from Kutztown University where he taught for more
barns featuring homesteads spread among the rolling than 15 years. He also taught high school for many years
lands of the valley starts at 11:30 am and ends at 4:00 before he taught at the college level.
pm. A great diversity of barns will be experienced and
will expand upon the excitement that was created in the Gregory D. Huber, a barn historian, will give the second
past three tours that included homestead barns of many
types, shapes and sizes. talk on “Still More Vernacular Barns of the Saucon Val-

This year’s sites include a wide array of nineteenth-centu- ley ” and present a slide show on Standard Pennsylvania
ry Pennsylvania two-level bank barns for you to see and
appreciate. Also on tour is the Heller barn site with its barns and one very rare original Up-Country Posted barn
original stone walls.
that occupy the hills and flatlands of the valley area. The
Because they are featured in the Rizzoli STABLES book,
three barns that had previously been on the barn tour Standard barns are typical of many areas of southeastern
are again made available for touring. They are Windsong
Farm, Stone Hollow Farm, and K Brook Farm located in Pennsylvania , and while they are not rare, they deserve
Lower Saucon Township.
recognition. Huber is the owner of Past Perspectives,
While each of the barns this year has its own distinctive
construction aspects, they all maintain the typical fore- based in Macungie, Pennsylvania and his special focus
bay appearance. All of the barns are of stone construction
and a few have the prominent English-based Principal is in House & Barn Histories of historic homesteads in
Rafter System, a common feature seen in Saucon Valley
barns. Unlike other years none of the barns are frame southeast Pennsylvania and beyond. Huber’s organiza-
buildings.
tion specializes in Title Searches, Family Histories and
With all of them built during the nineteenth century, the
barns on this year’s tour are true gems of Saucon Valley Architectural Documentations with dates of construc-
barn architecture and we are pleased to be able to present
them to you. tion and permanent reports are created. More than 150

Professor Robert F. Ensminger will speak about “Ele- House Histories have been done in twenty five counties
ments & Details found in Pennsylvania Barns.” The
most common Pennsylvania barn type is the standard in five states – Pennsylvania , New Jersey , New York ,
barn. These dominate in the Saucon Valley area. Many
of these features can be found in the barns today on Delaware and Maryland. A student of early vernacular
the tour. Bob is well known as the foremost authority
on the Pennsylvania Swiss-German forebay bank barn, architecture since 1971, Huber specializes in pre-1850
examined and studied barns in Pennsylvania along with
barn and house architecture of the Holland Dutch and

Pennsylvania Swiss-German as well as certain English

settled areas of the northeast. He has documented more

than 7,500 vernacular buildings in the east since the mid-

1970s, including more than 600 Dutch related barns and

more than 2,500 barns in Pennsylvania . Huber also has

given nearly 100 lectures on barns and houses and has

led dozens of barn tours in several states in the northeast.

He is the Vice-President of the Barn and Farm Founda-

tion of Pennsylvania. He is author of more than 130

articles on barn and house architecture and is co-author

of two books – the second edition of The New World

Dutch Barn (2001) and Stone Houses – Traditional Homes

of Pennsylvania’s Bucks County and Brandywine Valley

(2005). page 5

Book signing The Pennsylvania Barn, Its Origin, Evolution,
and Distribution in North America was written by
Authors Kathryn Masson, Robert F. Ensminger, Gregory Robert F. Ensminger.
D. Huber and Jeffrey L. Marshall will sign copies of their
books before and after the lectures. Kathryn Masson and Originally published by Johns Hopkins University Press
Lee Weidner will also be available to sign books during in 1992, it was revised and enlarged in 2003. It details
the tour at the Heller Homestead from 12pm – 4pm. the 500 year history of the forebay bank barn from its
inception in eastern Switzerland to its appearance in colo-
The following books are available for sale the day of the nial southeastern Pennsylvania and its subsequent evolu-
tour: tion and diffusion across North America. A key contribu-
tion is the first comprehensive classification of the various
STABLES: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns, forms of the Pennsylvania barn into a logical system of
and Tack Rooms by Kathryn Masson, with photography classes, types and subtypes. The form and function of the
by Paul Rocheleau. barn and resultant architectural and spatial manifestations
are illustrated by numerous photographs, diagrams and
From the private to the historic to the state-of-the-art, maps. A look into the future of the Pennsylvania barn
Stables is a lavish tour of some of the most notable stables concludes the study.
in the country. A celebration of horses and their “lodg-
ings,” this exquisite book covers horse country across the The New World Dutch Barn: The Evolution, Forms
United States—from the East Coast to the Bluegrass, the and Structure of a Disappearing Icon by John Fitchen
prairie and mountain ranches, and to the Pacific Coast— and Gregory D. Huber.
and traces the origins of twenty-five stunning stables,
from their vernacular beginnings in the early nineteenth The Second edition is an in-depth expansion of the first
century to the contemporary designs of today. Included classic and seminal book by John Fitchen published in
are a farm in the countryside near Saratoga Springs, New 1968. The new edition includes significant insights into
York, which bears an 1830s-constructed main barn that Dutch-American barns such as to the nature of their true
originally housed draft horses and now accommodates essence, various forms, provenance, European prototypes
retired race horses turned polo ponies, and a world- and use of framing technology, simplification processes,
renowned Arabian horse-breeding farm in Santa Ynez joinery, factors influencing dating and evolution, region-
Valley, California, that resembles a spa and country club alisms, rebuilding and later reconstructions and their
with Mediterranean-style architecture and landscaping character and future.
and has in the stable courtyard a stone fountain reminis-
cent of the ubiquitous waterworks in Moorish palaces. Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania’s
Uniquely spectacular, each selection is a reflection of its Bucks County and Brandywine Valley by Margaret Bye
regional heritage. Featuring all-new color photography, Richie, Geoffrey Gross, and Gregory Huber.
Stables showcases the best of America’s diverse equine
homes—a must-have for any horse or architecture en- The book is the first of its kind in several decades to
thusiast. Kathryn Masson is the author of Hunt Country illustrate the houses of the two areas with outstanding
Style and Historic Houses of Virginia. Paul Rocheleau is the photographs by a remarkable architectural photographer.
photographer of Hunt Country Style and Frederick Law See the extraordinary array of early building styles that
Olmsted: Designing the American Landscape. He also wrote date back to the time of William Penn. Numerous others
The One-Room Schoolhouse. Perky Beisel is a life-long include mills, churches and houses that date from the first
rider and an authority on the development of the Ameri- several decades of the eighteenth century. It is the greatest
can stable. (Rizzoli Publications, April 2010) collection of the earliest structures in all of Pennsylvania.

The book includes beautiful photographs of three Saucon
Valley barns on the 2010 Barn Tour: Stone Hollow Barn,
K Brook Farm and Windsong Farm.

page 6

Barns of Bucks County by Jeffrey L. Marshall and Agenda
Willis M. Rivinus.
Beethoven Waldheim Club Pavilion
A pictorial guide to a rapidly disappearing American September 11, 2010
icon. The book’s 300 photographs highlight the variety
of Bucks County’s barns from the early 18th century 9:30 am …………….…. Registration & Book Signing
through the early 20th century. Highly illustrated text 10:00 am …………….…. Welcome & Lectures
explains the variety of barn types found throughout the 11:00 am …………….…. Orientation
county and the adjoining counties of southeastern Penn- 11:30 am – 4:00 pm …… Self-guided Barn Tour
sylvania. The book also depicts common barn construc-
tion features and different types of timber framing tech- Welcome to the Fourth Annual Barn Tour of the
niques that were used to create these castles in the fields. Saucon Valley Conservancy on Saturday, September 11,
The book closes with commentary on the future of barns 2010. Eight homestead barns, including the Heller
and includes a glossary and a quick identification guide. barn are featured on the tour. Three barns that had
previously been on the barn tour are again made
Bucks County Farmhouses by Jeffrey L. Marshall. available for touring. Each of the new barn sites are
spectacular examples of very unusual barn architecture.
Bucks County, Pennsylvania evokes images of Bucks They are in every sense of the word “gems.” It almost
County farmhouses, colonial stone houses, and quaint seems that Lower Saucon Township has an inexhaustible
villages and towns which gives the county its national supply of unique barns. The township has truly been
reputation. The new book, Bucks County Farmhouses blessed. These barns may not appear all that noteworthy
celebrates the classic Bucks County farmhouse. Bucks on their exteriors but their interiors can leave tour
County Farmhouses is designed to help the old house participants in awe.
detective understand the variations of the iconic Bucks
County stone farmhouse. With hundreds of photographs, As in past year’s tours, there is marked variance of barn
it highlights typical Colonial, Georgian and Federal archi- expressions but they still have a number of aspects
tecture found throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. The that repeat themselves. It is these last features of an
focus of this book is on rural houses rather than elegant architectural nature that need to be discussed and
country manor homes, or the architecture of early towns defined so tour participants may better know certain
and villages. characteristics that will be encountered in the barns.
Twenty-eight barn terms are listed below. Note that this
Saucon Secrets, the History of Hellertown & Lower is not a complete list of features that the barns possess,
Saucon Revealed by Lee A. Weidner. but they are a good representation of the over-all
appearance or expression of the barns that will be seen
This is a 288 page hardcover book—the product of six on the tour.
years of investigation and interviewing on the author’s
part that includes more than 200 Saucon Valley stories Note – All barns on the 2010 tour are located in Lower
that blend history with humor and anecdotes. The book Saucon Township and every barn but one is a Standard
features cover art by Lower Saucon Township painter type. The lone exception is a very rare original condition
Frances Roseman and a color inside plate by Hellertown Up-country Posted Extended Barn owned by Stephen
artist Rick Eisenhart. The book, designed by Keri Max- & Karen Paul.
field, is also extensively illustrated with rare historic pho-
tographs from Weidner’s collection. Lee A. Weidner lives The description of each barn and glossary of barn
in Hellertown and is a lifetime member of the Heller- terms was written by Gregory D. Huber, owner of Past
town Historical Society, Lower Saucon Township Histori- Perspectives and Eastern Barn Consultants. Greg also
cal Society and the Saucon Valley Conservancy. Weidner serves on the Saucon Valley Conservancy’s Advisory
is also the author of Images of America: Hellertown and Board.
co-author of Images: Lower Saucon Township.
A tour map and a “At a Glance—Special Barn
Features Chart” are provided for the self-paced and
self-guided tour.

page 7

1 - Beethoven Waldheim Barn

Owner: Beethoven Waldheim Club
1984 Waldheim Road, Lower Saucon Township,
Northampton County
Nearest intersection: Waldheim Road and Flint Hill
Road off Leithsville Road (Route 412)

The Waldheim structure fulfills all the basic Standard Barn, circa 1840
requirements of a Standard barn. But, as an extra
added spice to the variety of barn structures in the He says: “Where the loophole came from isn’t really
township, the Waldheim barn has one unusual twist in known. Round holes were lined with brick.” Sloane
its appearance. While both gable walls to the peaks and was often transported by romantic imagery and he
rear wall (exclusive of the wagon doors) are all stone, thus occasionally rendered inaccurate sketches. Maybe
they have incorporated into the fabric of the masonry Sloane simply exercised poetic license. No matter, the
walls at pre-determined spots—circular loop-holes. loop-holes on the Waldheim barn would have fascinated
Its close cousin, vertical ventilator slits or splayed loop- Mister Sloane.
holes, are seen in several other barns in the township.
Circular Loop-holes are outlined in brick, about nine or At the one gable wall are two basement level door
ten in number, and the usual diameter of the opening openings and if the entries are original to the barn, one
is about nine inches. They are arranged in several rows entry served as a human door or foodergong or feeding
at each gable wall. Some barns may have up to fifteen alley door and the other as a horse entry door. In regard
to twenty or perhaps more on each gable wall. In the to the interior, much of the structural timbering is
Waldheim barn, loop-holes appear on both the gable obscured as walls and ceiling have been covered. This
walls and the rear wall and are filled in, which is not an may be readily understood as the barn now functions
unusual treatment, especially in barns that no longer as a restaurant. This may lend insight into the fact that
function in their original capacity. almost any barn in the township can continue its life
after the last farmer filled its mows with crops from
Circular loop-holes add a distinctive and regional flare surrounding fields and tended to farm animals stabled
to certain barns in the greater Saucon Valley. While in its basement.
they are not common, they are also not rare. Only a
few miles west of the barn, such barns with loopholes
are very rarely encountered, if ever. And barns with
loopholes may be seen in a number of locations in
west central New Jersey. In fact, a somewhat broad
regionalism developed at both sides of the Delaware
River for a few miles. However, only a certain number
of builders utilized this specific vernacular expression.

Loopholes are such a distinctive feature in certain
Pennsylvania barns, that the famed painter of early
Americana, Eric Sloane, depicted them along with
other ventilating openings on an entire page in his
classic book published in 1966—An Age of Barns.

page 8

2 - Michael Heller Homestead & Barn

Stone English Lake District Barn
Owner: Lower Saucon Township, Leased by Saucon
Valley Conservancy
1890-92 Friedensville Road, (Water Street), Lower Sau-
con Township, Northampton County
Nearest Intersection: Friedensville Road (Water Street)
and Creek Road

Please note: The Heller Homestead (Michael & English Lake District bank barn, Original Stone Barn Section,
Margaret Heller House) is listed in the National Dendro-dated to circa 1790
Register of Historic Places.
At the south end of the stone barn section was an
The original section of the Heller homestead stone even larger adjacent frame bank barn section that was
barn at the Friedensville Road historic site was a rare photographed in the 1940’s and disappeared more than
local English Lake District type bank barn. One timber fifty years ago. Unfortunately, nothing is known about
ostensibly from the original barn section was dendro- the interior structure of this section.
dated in the spring of 2009 and it appears the barn was
quite likely built in the 1790 to 1800 era. This barn is The Heller barn was included in the classic 1958
in distinct contrast to the far more common Standard book—Pennsylvania German Barns—by Charles
“fore-bay” bank barn seen in Lower Saucon Township Dornbusch and John Heyl. Mr. Heyl, a retired area
and countless other areas in southeast Pennsylvania and architect, now lives in Maine and is alive and well at
beyond. The Heller barn actually had two sections, an 104 years of age.
earlier two part stone section at the north end and a
much later frame section at the south end of the barn
complex.

Until February of 1998, all four sides of the stone barn
complex stood erect. In the aftermath of a severe storm,
a portion of the roof collapsed. Deeming it a danger,
township officials decided to bring down all but about
one-third of the barn. Fortunately, what was saved of
the barn was the very unusual stone arch of the non-
original north end addition.

However English the barn was on its exterior, especially
on its fully stone front wall, its original roof structure
was clearly German in expression—a liegender Stuhl.
Thankfully, photos of the superb early roof of the Heller
barn have survived.

page 9

3 - Windsong Farm – Culver/Robertson

Homestead

Owner: Michael & Kim Culver Robertson

3570 Lower Saucon Road, Lower Saucon Township,
Northampton County

Nearest intersection: Lower Saucon Road and
Wassergass Road

This beautiful picture post card barn, located on Lower Standard bank barn, circa 1830
Saucon Road less than a half mile below the four
corners of Wassergass, is the smallest barn on the tour This barn is featured in STABLES: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns,
at only about 33 feet at the front wall and about 27 and Tack Rooms (Rizzoli Publications, April, 2010) by Kathryn
feet at each end wall. The barn, however, is in excellent Masson, with photography by Paul Rocheleau. The Windsong
condition and is very well maintained. This barn of Farm, a picturesque homestead in Lower Saucon Township, shows
three-bay construction likely dates to circa 1830 and the close proximity of the barn to the farmhouse, typical for that
is a stone to the peak Standard bank barn with four area.
stable wall door openings. The doors are not original
but the door frames are original and may be chestnut.
As is typically found, there is a feed alley door entry
at the end wall closer to the homestead house. In the
great majority of Pennsylvania bank barns, the horse
stabling area in the basement was closer to the house
end. This may have been due to the fact that the farm
lane was closer to the house and there was a greater need
of accessibility for horses to be stabled toward the house
end of the barn. Cows were most often stabled away
from the house end. This was very likely the case in the
Robertson barn during most of the nineteenth century
and likely into the next century.

The Robertson barn is another example of a barn that
has an English Principal Rafter System. In this case,
there are only two principal rafter trusses due to its
diminutive size. The common rafters seen among the
principal rafters are hewn. The stone house, that is
likely of the same general construction date as the barn,
has a common rafter system. Parts of each bent in the
barn that flank the wagon bay were taken out and there
is a remnant built-in ladder in at least one of the bents.
A single summer beam appears in the basement and is a
single length of timber of good size.

page 10

4 - Stone Hollow Farm – Bristol

Homestead

Owner: Donna Bristol, Ph.D

2022 Springtown Hill Road, Lower Saucon Township,
Northampton County

Nearest intersection: Springtown (Hill) Road and
Route 412

The imposing stone bank barn on the west side of Stone Standard barn, circa 1840
Springtown Hill Road near its northern end, and not far
from Route 412, is a Standard two level bank barn that This barn is featured in STABLES: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns,
was built when the Industrial Revolution was in full and Tack Rooms (Rizzoli Publications, April, 2010) by Kathryn
swing about 1840. The barn is located very close to the Masson, with photography by Paul Rocheleau. Stone Hollow Farm
road and the homestead retains a few of its buildings, was established in 1752 by Christopher Stoffel Wagner, an early
including a first half of the nineteenth century stone settler in the Hellertown area. Today the stone structures of the
house. Stone on the barn appears at each gable wall to charming farm complex include a two-story farmhouse, a tenant
the roof peak and at the rear wall. In addition, the stable house that was the former summer kitchen, and the bank barn.
wall is of stone construction. The barn measures about
60 feet long on each side wall and about 40 feet wide at this trait is also seen in many barns in Ohio. In areas
each gable wall. west of the Saucon Valley, the ends of joists in fore-bay
barns appear below the fore-bay sill. Peiler ecks or stone
The barn experienced a major addition when a straw ell-formations at the front corners of the barn are seen,
shed with mortise and tenon joinery was positioned at one of which has a front cupboard door attached to it.
its front wall. This was a common practice in Greater
Lehigh Valley barns in roughly the 1890 to 1920 era The second floor boasts of three-bay construction and
and it appears that the straw shed that is about 15 feet the middle bay or wagon bay is about 16 feet wide. The
wide, was built about 1900. More than three-quarters end bays each average about 20 feet wide.
of the original front wall siding (at the rear of the straw
shed) of the stone barn is original and a few boards are The roof structure is an English-based Principal Rafter
in the 16 to 18 inch wide category. On the siding, are System, with four Principal Rafter pairs. A double tier
two very rarely seen, very old six-pointed barn stars in of staggered purlin plates appear in the roof and they
line with each end bay. They are evenly spaced, simply stretch from the one gable wall to the opposite gable
executed and quite faded. A single barn decoration (not wall.
a barn star) in line with the middle bay is difficult to
discern. It is quite likely the stars date back to the last The timbering in the barn is of oak construction. The
third of the nineteenth century. It is thought that barn framing units or bents that flank the wagon bay have
stars first appeared on Pennsylvania barns around 1810. built-in ladders, one of which extends to the roof. An
original mow-stead wall, that also flanks the wagon
One of the distinctive features of a number of Standard bay, has an original door that leads to the basement. An
barns in the Saucon Valley, and evident in the Bristol original granary door leads into a granary room at the
barn, is the joining of the basement ceiling joists front of the barn. The wagon bay floor is composed of
directly to the sides of the fore-bay sill that appears at original planks.
the bottom of the front wall. This trait is very rare west
of the Saucon Valley but is quite common in Standard page 11
barns in west central New Jersey and the eastern areas of
both Bucks and Northampton Counties. Incidentally,

5 - K Brook Farm – Rowe Barn

Owners: Mary Ann & Thomas Rowe
2387 Ringhoffer Road, Lower Saucon Township,
Northampton County
Nearest Intersection: Ringhoffer Road & Easton Road
(entrance is on Easton Road)

The K-Brook Farm on the north side of Easton Road, and Stone Standard Barn, circa 1840
several hundred feet west of the Route 78 overpass, is the
barn with the greatest dimensions on the tour. It is a stone This barn is featured in STABLES: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns,
to roof peak Standard barn that measures 65 feet at each and Tack Rooms (Rizzoli Publications, April, 2010) by Kathryn
side wall and 40 ½ feet at each end wall. In a very rare Masson, with photography by Paul Rocheleau. Owners, Tom and
treatment, the rear wall and the southwest gable wall, that Mary Ann Rowe originally bought the large barn and the 60 acres
are plastered, are etched to create a faux brick effect. The surrounding it for Mary Ann’s quarterhorse, K Brook. They now
opposite gable wall also likely had such a plastered finish. raise miniature horses, which often enjoy the spacious stalls origi-
No ventilator slits or louvered windows appear at the gable nally built for draft horses.
walls.
6 - Shimer Barn & Petrie Homestead
The front wall that is in prominent view of Easton Road
faces the southeast quadrant. The stone homestead house Owners: Bruce and Ginger Petrie
appears southwest of the barn. Six original stahlwand or 2626 Redington Road, Lower Saucon Township,
stable wall doors can be seen. Very wide peiler ecks appear Northampton County
at each front wall corner and one has a door cupboard at its Nearest Intersection: Redington Road and Lower Sau-
side at the horse end. Again, as is seen in a few other barns con Road
on the tour, the basement ceiling joists join directly to the
vertical side of the fore-bay sill at the front wall bottom. Located far back on Redington Road, less than a half
The joists are rather severely tapered at their outer ends as mile from the Lehigh River in the Redington area of
they enter the sill. the Township, is the Shimer homestead. Two buildings
dominate the landscape – a four-bay stone two-story
The rafters are all hewn and about the same size, connoting house and a two section barn complex.
a Common Rafter system. Canted or angled queen posts The barn complex consists of a medium to large sized
support the canted purlin roof support plates. The posts Standard barn and an attached two-story rear frame
and plates help to date the barn in the 1840 to 1850 era. structure. The two sections were built concurrently.
The barn is of three-bay construction with quite wide end This integral two-unit complex is quite a rarity. It
bays and a granary is intact. One built-in ladder on one is not unusual for an attached structure to be built
flanking bent ascends all the way to the roof peak and the immediately adjacent to either the front or rear wall of a
threshing floor is original. main barn section but not at the same time.

page 12

The main section is a rather substantial sized Standard Stone and Frame Standard barn, circa 1860
barn. The barn’s exterior dimensions are 66 ½ feet long
by 40 feet wide. The front wall faces 30 degrees West of The following information regarding the graveyard and
South. Stone construction constitutes much of the barn remains of stone house was provided by Lenny Syzyz,
– to the eaves level on each end wall and on the rear wall Dottie Eyer and Barbara Ryan Hausman.
in line with only the southeast end bay. The rear wall in
line with the opposite end bay is extremely rare because The ffiirst Shimer stone house was built by Jacob Shimer.
of its frame construction. That was very probably due to The exact date unknown, but it is believed to have been
the fact that the rear frame structure was built at the same built between 1736 when he arrived in Redington and
time as the main section. There was no need for the wall before his death in 1757. The remains of the house can
section to be of stone as is normally the case in almost all be seen by following the path behind the barn. The old
stone Standard barns. Bull Run Creek along the road of the same name is no
longer in use. This road originally traversed along the
The Shimer barn has a number of other rare features. Lutz-Franklin one room schoolhouse property once
The exterior siding is horizontal novelty siding as is the owned by Benedict Lutz. The second stone house, built
siding on the end walls above the eaves level. A very rare in 1775 by Jacob’s son second son, Edward, continues
rear basement wall stable door is seen toward the east to be occupied today. This property became known as
corner. Closely spaced double doors on the southeast end the Shimer Plantation. A linseed mill once stood on this
wall at the basement level originally had a unique single property along side a dam.
unit protective overhead hood.
It is Edward and his wife Rosina Seip who are buried
The interior on the upper level has fore-bay construction. under the large marble slabs in the walled enclosed family
Rafters are milled and there are 30 pairs. The three graveyard near the orchard by the second stone house.
bents consist of a mixture of hewn and milled timbers Edward, a prosperous farmer owning 125 acres and a
and wagon fflloors are original. The mow-steads (walls) captain in the First Battalion under Col. George Hubner,
that abut the end bays are mostly original. The boards died February 16, 1815 at the age of 75. He walked with
are up to 16 inches wide and are made of tulipwood a cane from an early leg injury, and that cane has been
(Liriodendron tulipifera). Almost all such walls are passed down through the generations of Shimers. Rosina
typically oak (pre 1810 barns) or pine (post 1810 or 1820 ffiirst married Jacob Shimer, but was widowed at the age
barns). Another unique feature is the original horizontal of 26 with 3 children. She soon married Jacob’s brother
sheathing on the interior surface of the front fore-bay Edward, age 24, in 1765. Rosina died in 1822 at the age
wall that extends about three feet up from the fflloor. Each of 83 and is buried alongside Edward inn the family plot.
end bay at the fore-bay side of the barn has a granary Peter Shimer, one of Jacob’s 7 sons, who died in 1828, is
which also constitutes quite a rarity. also buried in the family plot. Jacob’s younger son Isaac
became a Northampton County Justice of the Peace for
Horse Wheel Rear Wing 27 years.

The rear attached frame structure is almost square at 24 paggee1133
feet by 25 feet. The rafters are mostly hewn and appear
to be recycled from another structure. The craftsmanship
is not of the same quality as that found in the main barn
section. In the basement, there is a wood contrivance
that consists of two main features. The ffiirst is a superbly
crafted nineteen inch diameter, sixteen-sided oak shaft
about six feet long that engaged various wood members.
At the top of the shaft, there is a very heavy eleven foot
wide wheel with 96 cogs (several cogs are now missing).
This structure may have had associated horse action with
it that acted as part of a mill. Only the barn at Burnside
Museum in Bethlehem has a similar construction. Unlike
the top fflloor, the basement is now a ffiinished room.

Also located on the PieettrriieepprrooppeerrttyyiisstthheeSShhiimmeerr
graveyard and remains of the ffiirst Shimer stone house.

 















 

 

 

 

           
         
                 
              
           
                  
              
         





7 - Laubach Barn & Paul Homestead

Owner: Stephen & Karen Paul
1945 Leithsville Road, Lower Saucon Township,
Northampton County
Nearest Intersection: Leithsville Road (Route 412)
and Apples Church Road

Located on the east side of Route 412 in the Leithsville Stone and Frame Up-country Posted Extended Barn, circa 1875
area of Lower Saucon Township, at the juncture of
Apples Church Road, is the Laubach homestead. On its three walls sheathed in original vertical boards. The
this site is an original condition up-country posted main wagon doors (two half sections) are over 13 feet
barn. Such barns are exceedingly rare in southeast wide and are nearly all original. The human door within
Pennsylvania, although they actually occur with a fair the one wagon door section and the three stable wall
amount of frequency in Wisconsin. There are many doors are also original.
hundreds of such barns in Northampton County and
surrounding counties, however, almost all these barns At least three of the four posts that support the front
were not originally built as such. Up-country barns are wall of the straw shed are original and stand on stone
basically Standard barns with structures at their fronts plinths. Between the tops of the posts and the front sill
called straw sheds. These sheds are open sided (no of the shed are support plates that vary in their lengths
walls) at their bottom levels and at the upper level, they from 2 to 3 ½ feet. The barn dates to about 1875 as
abut the fore-bay front wall. Their front walls are usually does the brick homestead house.
supported by four or five posts, hence the name of the
barn class. In Robert Ensminger’s classification system,
this distinctive building type is known as an extended
barn.

The Laubach barn has two sections with two very
different dimensions. The front straw shed that is frame,
extends the full length of the rear section and is 40 feet
long and 10 feet wide. The main or rear section that is
of three-bay construction, is stone to the eaves level and
frame above and is 40 feet long and 30 ½ feet wide. The
front wall of the straw shed faces due west.

In the main section at each end wall above the stone,
are all original vertical boards. The straw shed also has

page 16

8 - Laubach Barn & Nowicki

Homestead

Owner: Steve and Deborah Nowicki

2486 Easton Road, Lower Saucon Township,
Northampton County

Nearest Intersection: Easton Road and Country Side
Lane

This is the second homestead on the tour with the name Stone Standard Barn, dated 1834
Laubach. Near the east branch of Saucon Creek, it is
located on the south side of Easton Road, about half On the interior, the barn is seen to be yet another Lower
way between the Route 78 overpass and Lower Saucon Saucon structure that has a Principal Rafter System. The
Road. The barn on the property is remarkable. Simply barn has four principal rafter pairs and common rafters
put, it is replete with rare or unique features. Where are hewn. Along the full length of the barn, there are
does an author begin? First and fore-most, visitors to four common rafter pairs at each side of each principal
this historic homestead will be richly rewarded. pair. Each principal pair is joined with a stout collar
beam.
This is a stone to the peak Standard barn. The exterior
dimensions are 70 feet (each eave wall) by 41 feet (each Each bent that flanks the wagon floor has an off-center
end wall) which is quite long for a three-bay constructed built-in ladder that ascends to the collar beam. All
barn. The front wall faces 15 degrees west of south. timbers are of oak construction and marriage marks are
Short, 20 inch splayed loopholes or vertical slits are seen seen at many of the timber joints.
on the west end wall and the rear wall and those on the
east end wall were filled in. On the west end wall, a few Beyond these unique aspects, almost everywhere one
feet below the peak, is a semi-circular wood inset that looks, the second floor level overflows with rare features.
bears the date – 1834. Just below the peak at each end The mow-stead (wall) at the east is utterly unique in
wall are circular brick lined loopholes. All features in the that it has six doors that are all original. The first door
barn reflect an 1830’s era of construction. The rear wall at the north end leads to the basement. The second
retains its original wagon doors that include a human door (with hundreds of sets of tally marks) leads to a
door. rare placed granary at the back side of the barn. Almost
all Standard barns have granaries at the front or fore-
The front stable wall or stahlwand still has all six of bay side. The third and fourth doors are side by side
its original split doors with door frames that have and they lead to a very unusual passageway to the east
pegged upper corners. A peiler eck is seen at each front end wall. The fifth and sixth doors are side by side and
barn corner. At the southeast corner is an original horse are each only three feet high. The front one leads to a
cupboard door. In the standard local building mode, the rare angled wood shoot that allowed farm crops to be
basement ceiling joists tenon into the mortised fore-bay deposited in the basement. All together, the doors create
sill. This trait is virtually never seen in barns outside a striking visual effect. (continued on page 18)
a five mile radius west of the Laubach barn. Hence, a
specimen of a regionalism is witnessed at the Laubach page 17
homestead.

The fore-bay is 5 feet 2 inches wide. Below the fore-
bay on the ground is a unique feature where there’s a
masonry floor about 45 feet long with a stone outer
edge that has a prominent upper lip. The stone edge
extends across the full length of the barn. The reason for
the inclusion of the rare floor is unknown to the author.

8 - Laubach Barn & Nowicki Committees & Organizations

Homestead (continued) Barn Tour Committee:
Co-chairs: Donna Rice, Laura Ray and Priscilla deLeon
In the west end bay, three genuinely unique features are Committee: Committee: Ginnie Blocker, Marianne Brady,
witnessed. A large room was constructed that attains Stephanie Brown, Robert Ensminger, Dotti Eyer, Scott
about half the width of the barn. Remarkably, two Fritzinger, Jerry Holum, Joanne Holum, Gregory Huber,
longitudinal ceiling beams are seen and apparently Kathryn Masson, Debra Mellish, Sheila O’Connell, Ken
function as summer beams. The front one is placed Raniere, Russ Rice, John Samuels, Karen Samuels, Michael
8 ½ feet to the rear of the front wall and the other is Schlecht, Lenny Szy and Lee Weidner
a little over 2 feet to the rear of the front beam. Each
beam is substantially sized at 13 ½ by 11inches in cross Board of Directors:
section and they support the floor above. However, the Priscilla deLeon, President; Laura Ray, Vice President &
reason for the presence of two beams (not just one) is Treasurer; Ginnie Blocker, Secretary; Mary Ann Chegezy;
not readily explainable. Similarly, the reason for the Robert Ensminger, Scott Fritzinger; H. Ralph Koch; Jr.,
inclusion of such a large room is unknown. Attendant Debra Mellish, Sheila O’Connell; Ken Raniere; Donna Rice,
to the room is a passageway that is adjacent to the stone and Russ Rice
end wall.
Advisory Board:
Together, the large front room with double ceiling Marcus Brandt; Ian Cramb; Kyle Datesman; Larry Eighmy;
beams x and end transverse passageway must have Robert Ensminger; Gregory Huber; John MacFarland, Debra
functioned for a very particular and related reason. Mellish, Frances Roseman and Stephen Roseman
The farmer must have had some very specific activity
incidental to his farming operation that dictated Area Historic organizations preserving your sense of place
the inclusion of these three very unusual features.
Perhaps almost as unusual is the presence of the six Hellertown Historical Society
doors on the east mow-stead. It seems quite likely that P. O. Box 124, Hellertown, PA 18055, 610-838-1770
the exceptional aspects seen in the west end bay are
importantly related in some manner to the aspects seen Historic Barn & Farm Foundation of Pennsylvania
on the east end bay. 22 Luckenbill Road, Kutztown, PA 19530. 610-683-1598

This barn is a wonderful example of the adage – you Lehigh Valley Heritage Center & Museum
can’t judge a book by its cover. The Laubach barn looks 432 W. Walnut St., Allentown PA 18102, 610-435-1074
like a perfectly normal Standard barn on its exterior. On
its interior, the situation is very different indeed. Lower Saucon Township Historical Society
PO Box 176, Hellertown, PA 18055, 610-625-8771

Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society
107 South Fourth Street, Easton, PA 18042, 610-253-1222

Saucon Valley Conservancy
1890-92 Friedensville Road, P. O. Box 3,
Hellertown, PA 18055, 610-216-0566

page 18

Glossary of Barn Terms barn front that is called a pent roof that extends across nearly
the entire full length of the barn. The pent roof protects the
BARN TYPES - Pennsylvania barns come in three stable wall doors. The Heller barn, built circa 1790, was an
categories: Switzer, Standard and Extended. Pennsylvania English Lake District barn.roof projection at the top of the
barns are denoted by their cantilevered fore-bay or projection stone basement wall at the barn front that is called a pent
over the basement level stable wall and are two-level banked roof. It extends across nearly the entire full length of the
structures. Except for one structure, Lower Saucon Township barn. The pent roof protects the stable wall doors. The Heller
fore-bay barns are all Standard barns. The lone barn is an barn (built 1790 – 1800) was an English Lake District barn.
Extended barn that is an up-country posted structure that is
in the Leithsville area. BASEMENT – This is the floor level that occupies the
entire area below the second floor. The basement was almost
Switzer barns may have been erected before 1750 but were exclusively set aside for the stabling of animals. This area of
commonly built in the 1780 to 1810 era. In certain areas the basement that is the horse end of the barn was almost
such as the Mahantango Valley above Harrisburg, Switzers always positioned toward the house side. The other area,
were erected into the 1830’s and 1840’s. Switzers have most often away from the house side, was for cows. The
asymmetrical roofs where the distinctive appendage-like fore- horse side is adjacent to the gable wall that has either one or
bay at the barn front creates the roof asymmetry. No Switzer two door entries while the cow-side gable wall most often has
barns appear on the 2010 tour. Four types of barns comprise no door entrances. Staked mangers and troughs were a major
the Switzer class. feature of the basement where feed was placed for farm stock.

Standard barns that have symmetrical rooflines, of which BAY – This is the space or area between adjacent framing
several are on the tour, were first constructed in the 1790’s units or bents. Thus, in a frame barn with four bents, there
and were far more commonly erected after 1820 and up are three bays. A barn with five bents has four bays, etc. In
until the late nineteenth century and somewhat beyond. stone barns, the so-called end bay is the area between the last
The width of fore-bays in Standard barns is quite often bent and the adjacent stone gable or end wall. Thus, two end
about 4 feet but can measure up to 6 to 8 feet or even more, bays appear.
depending on the specific barn and barn style. The transverse
framing units or bents are contained within the front fore- BENT – A major transverse framing unit on the second floor
bay area of the barn. Ten types of barns comprise the full level that consists of partial barn width tie beams, vertical
Standard class. side wall posts, mid-point posts, braces of varying lengths
and, often, built-in ladders. These bents were assembled on
Extended barns are those Pennsylvania barns that have been the barn floor or ground and then raised from a horizontal
enlarged by amending or extending the barn beyond the position to a vertical position by the efforts of a number of
basic Switzer and Standard framing limits. Three extended men using pike poles. At the top of bents, full barn width
Pennsylvania barns appear on the tour but the front extended upper tie beams appear that are not actually parts of the
barn sections were additions. Additional numbers of these bents as these ties were positioned after the bents were
barns appear in Lower Saucon Township. One Extended raised. This is referred to as normal assembly, in contrast
barn was found in June 2010 by Robert Ensminger that is to reversed assembly where upper ties in certain barns were
an authentic condition up-country posted barn. Six types of dropped below the level of the posts.
barns comprise the Extended class.
BRACE – These diagonal members are either relatively short
English Lake District Barns – This is a very rare barn type or quite long. When they are short, these beams connect
in the greater Lehigh and Saucon River Valleys. These barns partial tie beams to either the wall posts or the centered posts
are much more prevalent in the more southern English of the bents. They prevent the bents from lateral racking.
counties—southern Bucks and Montgomery, Chester and Braces can also appear in other areas of the barn, such as in
Delaware Counties. These are banked two level structures—a the plane of the roof where they are known as wind braces.
basement and an upper floor or left level without any fore- They can also connect purlin plates to queen posts. When
bay. The upper level is most often stone but can be of frame they are long, they appear from the floor sill to the partial tie
which is rather rare. The greatest difference between these beam. These braces are often considered to be Germanic in
barns and Pennsylvania barns is that the front wall in most nature. In Pennsylvania barns, braces are most often pegged
English type barns are all stone on the front wall level, from at each end.
the ground to the top of the wall. In addition, there is a short
roof projection at the top of the stone basement wall at the page 19

BUlLT-IN LADDER – These ladders are original elements at ninety degrees to placement of transverse timbers.
and most often centered on the bents that are adjacent to the
wagon bays. Thus, Pennsylvania barns very often have at least MOW-STEAD WALL – These walls are actually part of
two built-in ladders and three ladders very often appear in the bents that flank wagon bays in barns and often appear 5
four-bay barns. They often have rungs (of oak) but ladders to 6 feet and sometimes more above the wagon floor. They
can assume other forms such as cut-out areas in horizontal typically consist of horizontal boards, often of pine or of
boards that function as rungs. Occasionally the ladders oak, in certain pre 1810 or 1820 barns that are secured by
extend to the roof. Quite often they extend to the straining wrought, transitional or cut type nails. Such nails can quite
beam when vertical queen posts appear. often be good general indicators of construction ages of
barns. These boards are nailed to partial tie beams and bent
FORE-BAY – That part of the second floor of a posts that are often notched to receive the ends of the boards.
Pennsylvania barn toward the barn front wall that cantilevers
over the stable wall of the basement. The fore-bay is also PElLER ECK – The German dialect word for pier corner.
called an overshoot. Recall from above, Pennsylvania barns These are ell-shaped formations, always of stone, at the front
are defined as a two-level banked barn with a fore-bay at the corners of the barn at the basement level and above in all
front wall. Other barn types, such as one-level ground barns, stone barns. They also were included in the fabric of the barn
occasionally have fore-bays. Most barns in Lower Saucon for extra support of the stone gable walls.
Township are Standard Pennsylvania barns.
PRINCIPAL RAFTER SYSTEMS – Rafter systems in barns
GABLE – The wall at the end of the barn that includes that have much larger rafters in lines with bents and in end
the triangular section above the eaves level that extends to bays than the so-called common rafters that appear between
the roof peak. Gable walls are opposed to side or eave walls. the principal rafters. Most often seen in the southeast
Thus, four sided barns have two gable walls and between counties of Pennsylvania, these large rafters do not normally
them are two side walls. appear in barns built until about 1790 and are quite rare in
barns after about 1840 (See Purlin Plate and Rafter). Four
GRANARY – Very often located in the fore-bay side of barns on the 2010 tour have such rafter systems.
a Pennsylvania barn and sometimes into the area behind
the basic area of the fore-bay. The one side or wall of the PURLIN PLATE – Barn-length or longitudinal timber
granary is continuous with the mow-stead wall that flanks that extend from one gable (end) wall to the opposite gable
the threshing floor. The front wall of the granary is actually wall. They most often come in pairs, one per roof slope,
part of the front wall of the fore-bay. The other wall that is and support rafters. They are quite often spliced or come in
opposite the mow-stead wall is the end wall of the barn itself. two or three sections or lengths. These pieces are joined by
The back wall of the granary is made of boards. Granaries refinements called scarf joints. Barns that feature Principal
are broken up into individual grain-bin compartments for Rafter Systems have purlin plates that are decidedly different
storage of grain. Ceilings are about 6½ to 7 feet high and than in those that are seen in barns that have Common
farm crops were stored above the granaries. Rafter Systems. These purlin plates, instead of being in one
long single piece or spliced timber, are sectioned and quite
JOISTS – Transverse ceiling timbers in basements that often staggered, that is, they appear in single length sections
extend from the rear wall over the stable-wall and out to the or timbers between adjacent Principal Rafter Trusses. They
front fore-bay wall. Most often, joists are supported by and are staggered in that they attach to the sides of the Principal
are positioned over summer beam(s). Joists are most often Rafters at different points along the lengths of these rafters.
of oak and can attain widths of 10 inches to as much as 18 In addition, barns of large size with Principal Trusses very
inches. Joists are often left in the round at their sides and often have a double level or tiered system of purlin plates,
are hewn square at the front of stable walls, apparently for ostensibly for greater support.
aesthetic reasons. One barn of late vintage that appeared on
the 2009 tour, actually had longitudinal joists which is a very QUEEN POST – A vertical or angled timber (depending on
rare feature. the barn) that extends most often from an upper tie beam of
a bent or structural framing unit to the soffit or undersurface
LONGITUDINAL – This is an orientation of a barn timber of the purlin plate. Thus, the queen post supports the
that is parallel to the ridgeline. Full barn length longitudinal purlin plate. In certain early German barns with particular
timbers are purlin plates, wall plates, summer beams or front roofing systems, there are no queen posts. In certain other
fore-bay wall sills. Other longitudinal timbers that do not early German barns, there are queen-like posts. When posts
run the full barn length are girts or horizontal timbers at the are angled, the term canted is applied. Canted queen posts
front wall in Standard barns. Longitudinal timbers are placed are often utilized in later barns – after about 1840, but can
appear before that time.
page 20

RAFTER – These are the major structural members of the beams are often large-sized and very often oak. A fair to good
roof (often of oak) that appear just below the outermost roof number of barns have two summer beams. Rarely do barns
covering that support the covering. Rafters virtually always have three summer beams and one very large circa 1840 barn
come in pairs and in almost all pre-Civil War barns and fairly east of State College, remarkably, has five summer beams.
often in post-Civil War barns, are pegged at the roof peak.
Rafters at their bottoms join to the wall plates that sit atop SPRIGGEL BAR – A horizontal bar of wood at the horse
the side walls that are of frame, stone or brick construction. entry doors on the stable wall. These are set into the wide
Rafters that are x the same basic size in a given barn are wooden door jambs about halfway up the door opening,
referred to as Common Rafter Systems. and slide freely into a horizontal pocket in the stone or long
wood boxes in the surrounding stone wall at the one side.
Many early era barns, most especially in the Saucon Valley in These bars kept the horses contained in the stable areas.
the 1790 to 1840 time frame, have English based Principal Spriggel bars are more commonly found in barns built before
Rafter Systems. Four barns on the 2010 tour have these roof 1840 but definite exceptions exist such as the dated 1834
formats. Such barn roofs consist of two to five Principal roof Laubach-Nowicki Standard barn that have no bars. Two bars
trusses where each truss is composed of two large sized and are rarely seen per door opening in the northern counties. In
paired rafters. Trusses are either in line with the framing units Chester County, they are not so rare.
or bents or they appear about mid-way in end bays in certain
barns. They also alternate with considerably smaller sized TRANSVERSE - This is an orientation of a timber
common rafters. More than 140 barns of various ages and positioned in a barn that is perpendicular to the roof
types have been identified by the author. ridgeline x or side wall to side wall. Full barn width
transverse timbers are upper tie beams and basement level
SIDE WALL – The side or eave wall is the wall that appears ceiling joists. Another type of transverse timber that does not
between the gable walls. In the great majority of Pennsylvania run the full barn width is a partial tie beam that appears in
barns, the main wagon doors appear on the rear side wall. bents a few feet below the upper tie beam.
The front fore-bay wall should be considered a side wall.
UPPER TIE BEAM – This is the transverse beam at the top
SILL – This timber appears at the edge of any floor that of a bent that spans the entire width of the barn and appears
appears in a fore-bay barn (and in other barns). Individual at the top of the bent or more rarely, is seen dropped one
sills acting in concert constitute a sill system. They appear to two feet below the tops of the posts. It is either almost
along the edges of threshing bays and wagon bays. They also always in line with the wall plate or just above the plate.
appear at the bottom of the floor at the front wall of the fore- Upper tie beams are usually associated with early English
bay. barns in New England and they tie the longitudinal side wall
bents together. In Pennsylvania, these beams rest on side wall
STABLE WALL – The stable wall or stahlwand at the posts that appear on frame barns and may or may not rest
basement level (often made of stone and sometimes of brick on posts in stone barns. They are placed into position after
or even wood) is set back from the front edge of the end wall the bent is raised into its vertical place. This type of beam is
by 4 to as much as 10 or more feet. It contains several animal found in Pennsylvania fore-bay barns until the Civil War and
doors and one or two feed-entry doors. Very often these occasionally beyond.
doors are halved, with a top and bottom section.
UPPER PARTIAL TIE BEAM – These beams are
STRAINING BEAM OR QUEEN POST TIE BEAM – sometimes called scaffolding beams. They often appear in
These transverse beams stretch from one queen post to the bents of Pennsylvania fore-bay barns and are seen a few feet
adjacent queen post above the bent with which it is in line. below the upper tie and stretch between a side wall post and
They were often included in barns constructed before 1860 a centered post
and less often after that time. In many barns, these ties
were removed when metal hay tracks at the roof peak were WALL POST – These are major vertical timbers that are part
installed after the Civil War. These tie beams never appear of the front walls in stone Standard barns and on both front,
between canted queen posts. rear and gable walls in frame Standard barns. Posts appear
most often in bents at both the front and rear side walls.
SUMMER BEAM – This is the barn-length longitudinal
ceiling beam – gable wall to gable wall – in the basement that page 21
forms the main support of the second or loft floor above.
Actually, joists support the floor above but the summer beam
which, in turn, supports the joists that appear above the
summer. They are often spliced in one or two spots. Summer

MAP - Laura is working on & will provide an edited version
< insert map >
<insert chart>

2010 BARN TOUR

Barn Name Type Special Barn Features

1. BEETHOVEN WALDHEIM BARN Standard Barn, circa 1840 o Circular loop holes on both gable walls and rear
Owner: Beethoven Waldheim Club wall
1984 Waldheim Road

2. HELLER HOMESTEAD & BARN Rare English Lake District bank o German roof truss – liegender Dachstuhl in main
Open House barn, Original Stone Section, section and distinctive stone cart shed entry in one-
circa 1790 bay addition
Journey Through Time Tour
Owner: Lower Saucon Township
Leased by Saucon Valley Conservancy

1890-92 Friedensville Road

3. WINDSONG FARM Stone to peak Standard Bank o 3 bay-bay construction
Culver/Robertson Homestead Barn, circa 1830 o 4 stable wall door openings
o English Principal Rafter System
Owner: Mike & Kim Culver Robertson
3570 Lower Saucon Road

4. STONE HOLLOW FARM Stone Standard Bank Barn, circa o English based Principal Rafter System, with four
Bristol Homestead 1840 with added straw shed Principal Rafter pairs

Owner: Donna Bristol o original boarded front fore-bay wall
2022 Springtown Hill Road o Two rarely seen old six pointed barn stars on the

siding-

5. K BROOK FARM Stone Standard Barn, circa 1840 o Rare faux brick plaster exterior wall covering
Rowe Barn o Six original stahlwand or stable wall doors
o Very wide peeler ecks
Owner: Mary Ann & Thomas Rowe
2387 Ringhoffer Road
Access on Easton Road

6. SHIMER BARN Stone to Eaves Level Standard o Rare original exterior horizontal novelty siding
Owner: Petrie Homestead Barn – circa 1850 o Very rare rear basement stable door in the east
Shimer Graveyard & first Shimer stone With frame rear shed
house ruins corner
o Unique single unit protective overhead hood
Owner: Bruce & Ginger Petrie o Original horizontal sheathing
2626 Redington Road o Horse wheel rear wing

o Graveyard and stone house ruins

7. LAUBACH BARN Rare original Up-Country Posted o Three front support posts are original with upper
Paul Barn Extended Barn plates intact

Owner: Stephen & Karen Paul o Human door within the one wagon door section and
1945 Leithsville Road the three stable wall doors are also original

8. LAUBACH BARN Stone to Peak Standard barn – o Masonry stable wall floor area – two summer
Nowicki Homestead dated 1834 beams in end bay on upper loft level

Owner: Stephen & Deborah Nowicki o Circular brick lined loopholes
2486 Easton Road

SAVE THE DATE
Saturday, September 10, 2011 ~ 5th Annual Barn Tour of Saucon Valley Barns

page 22

6 LOWER SAUCON RD

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1 page 21

SAUCON VALLEY CONSERVANCY
2010 BARN TOUR MAP

Saucon Valley Annual Fall

--conservancy-- Basket Bingo
Featuring Longaberger® Baskets

Saturday November 6

At Dewey Fire Company Proceeds benefit Saucon Valley Conservancy,
a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
502 Durham Street, Hellertown, PA
Doors open 5:00 pm Games start 6:00 pm Purchase Advance Tickets at:

$20 advance / $25 at the door Saucon Valley Conservancy’s
Antiques & Collectibles Gift Shop
20 regular games
Specials games At the Heller Homestead
Chinese auction 1890-92 Freidensville Rd., Bethlehem, Pa
Door prizes (just outside Hellertown, Water St.)
Saturdays 1 - 4 or Sundays 12 - 3
Food will be available.
Or Call 610-838-7722

Dick Kantor presents sTlephcoetnuKsroaernsetadorrbey:
“Saucon Valley Long Ago” Hellertown
Tuesday evenings, 7:00PM Historical Society,
September 28, 2010 and October 5, 2010 LTSooocwwineertsyhS,iapuHcoisntorical
Saucon Valley
The two evening presentation includes a slide show and Conservancy.
lecture that spans from the late 1800s ...Saucon Iron Co., Place: Lower Saucon
Thomas Iron Works... to the 1940s ...Bethlehem Airport. Township Town Hall.
3700 Old Philadelphia
Pike, Lower Saucon
Township

Guests are welcome and
refreshments will be served.

page 24

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BETHLEHEM OFFICE 610.691.5644 Phone: (610) 317-3200

LANCASTER-LEBANON OFFICE 717.721.7444 2335 Applebutter Road
Bethlehem, PA 18015
LEHIGH OFFICE 610.395.9222 Hours: Mon-Fri: 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sat: 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
POCONO OFFICE 570.688.9550 Municipal Disposal & Recycling Center

ELIZABETHTOWN OFFICE 717.367.0144 page 25

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