Why are farmers barns almost always painted red?

Question

just curious

Answer 1

Centuries ago, European farmers sealed the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil, which was a sort of tawny-colored oil made from flax seeds. They painted their barns with this linseed-oil mixture, often adding milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. Today, linseed oil is still used to seal wood.

Historically, "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:

Sometimes 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.

Some 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. So it made a lot of sense to add rust to the paint, which would also give it a red tinge. Having a red barn became a fashionable thing, in sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse.

As European settlers arrived in North America, they brought 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.

And that's the story of why barns are red.

Answer 2

The practice of painting barns red goes back hundreds of years when farmers used to make their own paint using a combination of linseed oil, milk and rust. The rust was added to prevent mold from growing in the mixture—and that's what gave it the red color. In keeping with tradition, many barns are still painted red using modern-day red paint instead.

Answer 3

Johnson has discovered some answers to why so many barns are red. While she found many white ones in her travels, plus others without paint weathered to gray, the enduring vision of the American barn is in red.
"Dropping iron scraps into a barrel of buttermilk transformed it into an inexpensive and easy red paint," she discovered. "Farmers thought red absorbed the heat in the winter and kept the dairy cows warm. Also, red was thought to be neighborly and friendly."

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

Well, a long time ago red was the only color of paint besides white. In Sweden many of the houses are still red trimmed in white. Then the color of yellow came around and only the rich folks had this color. Another reason could be is that when painted red, it's hard to tell when they need painting again. Unlike the lighter colors.

Answer 6

Here is one explanation:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_382.html

"Barns were originally painted red because back in pioneer days there wasn't much choice. Farmers used to make their own mixture, consisting of a nauseating blend of skim milk, lime, linseed oil, and iron oxide, better known as rust.

...The mixture hardened quickly and wore well. The red color was a side product of the iron oxide."

from Cecil Adams of the Straight Dope.

Answer 7

According to Modern Marvels on the History Channel, the wood of barns were treated with a solution that kept it from rotting. The solution turned the wood to a red color and that just became a tradition over the years.

Answer 8

since most old time farmers did everything in planting various crops to caring for many different animals...milk was abundant due to a small herd occassionally the price of milk was not too great ...then they would take the milk and mix with secret recipes to paint the fence, house,and even tree trunks....but to have something different for the barn (not to confuse the house with the barn ) they mixed rust shavings off equipment with milk and other ingrediants and you have red paint....in order to run a successful farm---you had to be resourseful in every way................

Answer 9

since farms where placed few and far between, red was the best color at that time to tell where your neighbor was. and since the barn was normally the largest building on the property it made sense to paint it this color.

Answer 10

actually they made red paint from blood and milk, very cheap for the farmer,and good use of resources. It is now just a quaint custom.