Cruisin' through the country side in Wisconsin..looking at all the beautiful farms..I wondered why there were so many red barns. Was there a reason for having red barns and out buildings..is it just a traditional thing now.
2006-07-01 05:27:16 · 6 answers · asked by justwonderingwhatever 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.
Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant.) Now, where does the red come from?
In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories:
Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red.
Farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.
Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.
As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up.
Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on what they are used for.
2006-07-11 08:17:19 · answer #1 · answered by MTSU history student 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
From what I have been told, it has to do with the need to put quantities of iron in the paint. If I remember correctly, this did two things. First, it made the wood taste bad to the insects that like to live in the wood - termites, ants, etc, . Second, it helped protect the wood from the weather. The reason the paint was so red was because iron turns red as it oxidizes (rusts).
I am not a farmer, but this is what I have been told. Anyone care to enlighten further?
VT
2006-07-01 08:00:50 · answer #2 · answered by Viking Trombonist 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Im not sure if this applies but i know they used to paint alot of civic buildings such as schools red becuase red paint was cheap. Im guessing that a farmer would buy the red paint for the same reason, and the color just stuck.
2006-07-02 20:04:32 · answer #3 · answered by gamereaper3 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Farmers are COMMIES! Always have been, always will be... they think they're sneaky with those red barns and stuff, but I know the Truth! Commies... all of 'em! Yep.
2006-07-10 22:29:10 · answer #4 · answered by nomad 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here's a link that asks & answers the same question:
2006-07-01 05:33:23 · answer #5 · answered by Bad Kitty! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Color red is good luck.
2006-07-01 12:05:37 · answer #6 · answered by pineconeinthetree 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋