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Pioneer Barns (1870-1900)

History

Barns built in Manitoba before 1870 were crude one-storey log or even sod structures. The major settlement groups that opened the province during the 1880s and 90s — Anglo-Ontarians, Quebeckers, Icelanders, Mennonites and Ukrainians — introduced a variety of new barn designs and building technologies. Each of these groups produced structures that can be identified by their distinctive form and construction details. Most of these barns provided shelter for a variety of livestock — horses and cattle primarily — in a stable. Feed and hay for the livestock were stored in a loft, usually located above the stable.

Pioneer Barns

Click on the characteristic buttons below or on the building to explore the characteristics.

Gable-roofed frame built with heavy timber
Gable roofed saddle-notch or dovetail joins board and batten siding

Gable roofed

Gable roof

Gable roof

a roof with gables at each end

Styles with this characteristic

Buildings with this characteristic

saddle-notch or dovetail joins

Saddle-notch join

Saddle Notch

a corner joint used in round log construction, consisting of semi-circular notches cut near the ends of the logs

Styles with this characteristic

Dovetail join

Dovetail

a joint in cabinetry and square log construction, consisting of interlocking ‘V’-shaped cuts

Styles with this characteristic

board and batten siding

Board and batten

Board / Batten

wide vertical wood sheathing (boards) with narrow vertical wood strips (battens) covering the joints between the boards

Styles with this characteristic

Characteristics

  • barns from Icelandic and Ukrainian tradition are typically small, gable-roofed log structures connected with saddle-notch or dovetail joins
  • Mennonite barns are attached to houses (see Mennonite Housebarns section)
  • Southern Ontario-style barns are typically built into a hill bank (hence the term bank barn) to permit ground level access to both the stable and the loft above it; loft features include heavy timber construction covered with board and batten siding; the stable is usually constructed of fieldstone
  • French barns, unlike the previous examples, did not combine functions; instead hay, cattle and horses were often housed in separate structure; like Southern Ontario-style barns, they were built with heavy timber framework and board and batten siding