Ohios Bicentennial Barns

Bicentennial Barns of Ohio recounts the history of the eighty-eight barns chosen to represent each of Ohio's counties, based upon the author's interviews with current and former owners of the barns.

Mission of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission is to plan and coordinate a dynamic celebration and commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Ohio statehood which takes places in 2003. Website includes information on programs such as Bicentennial Bells and Bicentennial Barns.

From the glacier-flattened northwest to the Appalachian hills and valleys to the east and south, barns dot the Ohio landscape. Built with wooden nails and mortise-and-tenon joints and assembled with beams hand-hewn from nearby trees, some of these magnificent structures have witnessed three centuries. Many display the unique carpentry of masterful barn builders, including "mystery" wooden spikes and tongue-and-groove two-inch flooring. Sadly, a number of these barns, neglected for years, risk crumbling any day. Join artist and author Robert Kroeger on a trip to each of Ohio's eighty-eight counties to view some of the state's oldest and most historic barns before they're gone.