E2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 21,1981
Barns, Banishing relics of by-gone days?
HERSHEY Anyone growing up in and around the
Chocolate Capital of the world is familiar with another
creation of the famous Milton S. Hershey The entrepreneur
of candy also was the benefactor of hundreds of homeless
children through the creation in 1909 of the Milton Hershey
School, an industrial school for boys who suffered the loss of
one or both parents
To house the boys and to provide them with the
rehabilitating atmosphere of farm life with its hard work and
responsibility, Hershey purchased 100 farms around his
town, comprising 10,000 acres.
These farms, over the years, have been cared for under the
guidance of Milton Hershey School farm directors like Al
Dugan And most of the original buildings still stand on the
farmsteads with barns of all shapes, styles and sizes
gracing the beautiful agricultural area
Captured on the pages of this week’s Lancaster Farming
are some photos depicting the varied architecture of the turn
of the century when mosfof the barns were constructed This
type of structure is a vanishing work of art in the agrarian
world. It's imminent extinction has been brought about by
high costs of labor and materials, along with new theories on
engineering farm livestock buildings for healthy ventilation
and more specialized operations.
But no matter what the argument is against the old
fashioned Dutch-style barns, everyone will agree these barns
are beautiful masterpieces of an era when pride and work
manship brought mortise and tenons together a lasting
tribute to agricultural history and an heirloom for future
generations of farmers
Some of the Milton Hershey barns have found their uses
and ownerships change over the years. One magnificent
stone barn built with a hip roof is this one located at the in
tersection of Routes 743 and 322, south of Hershey. The barn
no longer serves as a shelter for livestock, but houses an
antique business.
This Milton Hershey barn is disguised under a unique roof
four sides angle up at three levels before meeting at a
center peak. This style roof matches the one on the adjacent
house and smaller shed.
BY SHEILA MILLER
With grounds meticulously groomed and these walls together stone by stone created a
landscaped, the sign unmistakably identifies structure capable of withstanding years of
the proud owners of this limestone-sided barn, wind and weather. Attached to the south side
One of the more common styles of barns found of the barn is a milk house, complete with glass
on the MHS farms, the masons who pieced block windows.
Adjacent to another Milton Hershey ar- off the barn in graceful angles, another
chitectural masterpiece, Founders Hall, this popular style for local barns at the turn of the
agrarian architecture houses some of the century,
school’s Holsteins. Its modified hip roof tops
Corn crib, milk house, and other small sheds surrounds the forebay area, where cows bask
compliment this typical bank barn, located in the sunshine. Barns of this size and style are
along Rt. 39. A stone-wailed barnyard a rarity for contractors today.
(LION HERSHEV SCHOOL '&?*
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