Harnsberger Octagonal Barn

Harnsberger Octagonal Barn
Nearest city Grottoes, Virginia
Coordinates 38°15′44″N 78°51′53″W / 38.26222°N 78.86472°W / 38.26222; -78.86472Coordinates: 38°15′44″N 78°51′53″W / 38.26222°N 78.86472°W / 38.26222; -78.86472
Area 1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built 1867
Built by Evers, William
Architectural style Other, Octagonal barn
NRHP reference # 82004541[1]
VLR # 007-0037
Significant dates
Added to NRHP July 8, 1982
Designated VLR December 16, 1980[2]

The Harnsberger Octagonal Barn, also known the Mt. Meridian Octagonal Barn, is located near Grottoes, Virginia. Built about 1867, the barn is possibly the only example of such a barn in Virginia, as the building style was more popular in the expanding midwestern United States in the immediate post-American Civil War era than in economically-depressed Virginia. The octagonal style was popularized in 1853 by A Home For All, or the Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building by Orson Squire Fowler.[3]

The barn was built for Robert Samuel Harnsberger in 1867, following the example of his brother Stephen, who had built an octagonal house nearby in 1856.[4] The barn represents an adaptation of the octagonal concept to the site, incorporating elements of traditional bank barns. The barn's builders encountered difficulty in assembling and fitting the barn, requiring the assistance of other carpenters.[3]

The wood frame barn retains the traditional bank barn functions of a central wagon floor with hay lofts to either side, rather than a functional distinction between each of the sides as suggested by Fowler. As with a bank barn, accommodations for cattle are on the lower level, with the stalls arranged in a line rather than radially.[3]

The barn was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 1982.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (July 9, 2010). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  3. 1 2 3 Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (October 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Harnsberger Octagonal Barn" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved October 24, 2011. and Accompanying photo
  4. ↑ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (January 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Stephen Harnsberger House" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved October 24, 2011.

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