Four Functional Types of American Barns

When you were young, all barns fell into two simple categories ... those you were allowed to while away the long childhood hours in, and those that you weren't! As a kid, the thing that was most special about your barn was simply the fact that it was yours. Now that you're grown up, making your own decisions and spending your own cash, there's a bit more thought that needs to go into your choice of American barn. Today we check out 4 functionally classified types of barns that can be built with pole barn kits, easily and on a budget.

Tobacco barns

Travelling by train through the countryside of some tobacco-heavy states, tobacco barns are still a ubiquitous part of the landscape. Air-cured tobacco needed a barn to mature in, but when the states started actively discouraging tobacco cultivation due to its health effects, most tobacco barns were instantly abandoned. Now the little tobacco that is still grown is cured on scaffolds placed throughout the fields. Not quite as romantic as the old barn!

Hop barns

These could once be found on every second farm, especially throughout New York's hoop belt. Now only Washington State still produces hops, and the hop barns that can still be found are more historical relics than functioning hop kilns. The design is very distinctive, though - you'll most likely recognize the tall, narrow buildings with a cupola over one area - where the hop kiln was located inside.

Pole barns

Pole barns can still be found across the country - they provide an easy maintenance yet undercover area for storage and work, and they are also exceedingly easy to put up! Nowadays you don't have to go out and hew your own tree trunks, though - you just buy a pole barn package. If white ants are a problem in your area, there are plenty of steel pole barn packages available.

Rice barns

You might not recognize this building unless you've spent a lot of time in South Carolina - the rice barn is generally seen in Asian countries. South Carolina rice barns were usually clad in beautiful, romantic cypress shingles. Hay lofts, interior stairwells and gabled rooves make this type of American barn iconic.