Returning to Essex, NY from yet another sensational Adirondack Coast bike ride last fall, I was struck by the abundance of red barns in the Champlain Valley. While I’m likely betraying a Northeastern United States bias, I suddenly realized that barns — almost all barns — are red.
Before you get persnickety and remind me that all barns are not red, before you point out that my very own barn is tan, and before you patronizingly remind me that sudden realizations are better kept quiet to avoid broadcasting embarrassing errors, humor me long enough to explain the decidedly unscientific experiment I undertook to test out my theory.
Why Are Barns Red?
For the next few days I posed the following question to anyone who would listen:
If I asked you to draw barn, what color would you make it?
I received one universal, unhesitating response. Red. Nobody said tan. Nobody skirted the question or offered a fuzzy, nuanced answer. What color are barns? Red.
Hypothesis proven.
Red Barn Vermont (Photo credit: freefotouk)
Soft science? Perhaps. But what intrigued (and perplexed) me even more than the fact that everyone I asked shared my subconscious expectation that barns are red was why we all had the same answer. Why was our first instinct to color a barn red? Why are barns red? Is there an actual reason that barns are usually red?
I passed these questions along to my “test group”, and their answers, though varied, generally focused on a consistent theme.
Red paint (or its predecessor) must have been easy to acquire or manufacture.
Red paint must have originally been cheaper and/or more abundant.
Red paint must preserve wood from rot better than other colors.
Red paint must endure sun, rain and weather wear better than other colors.
As it turns out, most these guesses were pretty accurate. The short version: barns were painted red due to its usefulness. And a few people even surmised that the red ingredient for the original paint applied to barns might have been produced from rust. (Hat tip to Jim Carroll for getting that ball rolling…) A smart lot, my test group!
Official Explanation Why Barns Are [Often] Red
But just in case you’re feeling a bit dubious about my scientific method, I’ll pass the baton to more credible barn paint experts.
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. (HowStuffWorks)
That’s wisdom, reader, in black and white to dispel all mysteries once and for all. Unless you’re still suspicious, in which case, The Farmer’s Almanac will take up the trivia question du jour.
Red Barn Beauty (Photo credit: boodie131)
Many years ago, choices for paints, sealers and other building materials did not exist. Farmers had to be resourceful in finding or making a paint that would protect and seal the wood on their barns. Hundreds of years ago, many farmers would seal their barns with linseed oil, which is an orange-colored oil derived from the seeds of the flax plant. To this oil, they would add a variety of things, most often milk and lime, but also ferrous oxide, or rust. Rust was plentiful on farms and because it killed fungi and mosses that might grow on barns, was very effective as a sealant. It turned the mixture red in color. When paint became more available, many people chose red paint for their barns in honor of tradition. (Farmers’ Almanac)
It smells a bit like overlapping research, no? Or perhaps the evidence is simply so strong, so clear, that the answer tumbles forth with such similarity again and again. And again:
Rust, it turns out, kills mold and other types of fungi, so farmers began adding ferrous oxide (rusted iron) to the linseed oil mix. A little bit of rust went a long way in protecting the wood, and gave the barn a nice red hue.
By the late 19th century, mass-produced paints made with chemical pigments became available to most people. Red was the least expensive color, so it remained the most popular for use on barns, except for a brief period when whitewash became cheaper and white barns started popping up…
Today, many barns are still painted the color traditionally used in a given region, with red still dominating the Northeast and Midwest. (Mental Floss)
The next time some creep asks you, “Why are barns red?” you’ll be ready to dazzle. Or befuddle. Good luck!
Very cool. It’s interesting to know why (even if I had never really considered it before). I bet the red color also comes in handy during white-outs when farmers needed to get to a barn to check on animals.
Greetings, Ed! Hope you’ve been well. Nothing like an architect to help unravel the mystery. Thanks. Makes sense to me, though staying inside the farmhouse next to the woodstove with some homemade moonshine and a freshly baked plateful of cookies sounds like a better way of handling a North Country storm… 😉
Virginia farmers were the first to become paint-conscious. In Pennsylvania, the Dutch settlements latched on to the custom of red bricks, red barns, red geraniums, even reddish-brown cows. When a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer added big ornamental designs to barns, “just for luck,” he was accused of designing a hex sign to frighten the devil. Many old-timers sneered at their neighbors’ newly painted barns and accused them of copying “those superstitious Germans of Pennsylvania.”
But color caught on. Inasmuch as ready-made paint was not available, a farmer mixed his own. He discovered that skimmed milk, lime and red iron oxide made a plastic-like coating that hardened quickly and lasted for years. Occasionally, it hardened too well and peeled off in sheets. Linseed oil was subsequently added to the recipe to provide the necessary soaking quality. Thus American “barn red” was born. It came into being through function and utility, rather than decor or superstition. It was soon discovered that the red barn color was warmer in winter since it absorbed the sun’s rays.
Great article and good comments.
There are many theories and reasons for red painted barns.
One well documented reason is rarely mentioned for some treason. Back in the 1600’s the copper mines m the region of Dalarna in Sweden produced about a third of the global copper at the time.. The waste material from the copper production has been used since then to make a low cost deep red pigment used as a base for making red paint. This paint is now called Falu red. ((from the copper mine in Falun town)
The red paint historically originated from various copper mines in Sweden. Most well known is the mine at Falun, in the province of Dalarna. In Finland, falu red is known as punamulta (“red earth”), after the pigment, which consists of finely divided hematite. Since the binder is starch, the paint is permeable to water. In Estonia, falu red is known as Rootsi punane (“Swedish red”) and is most common in Western Estonia in the former Coastal Swedish territory.
The earliest evidence of the use of falu red dates from the 16th century. During the 17th century, falu red was commonly used on smaller wooden mansions, where it was intended to imitate buildings with brick facing. In Swedish cities and towns, wooden buildings were often painted with falu red, until the early 19th century, when authorities began to oppose use of the paint. Increasingly many wooden buildings in urban areas had by then begun to be either painted in lighter colors such as yellow or white, or to be sided with stucco. The number of buildings made of bricks had also increased.
The paint consists of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mines of Falun which contain silicates iron oxides, copper compounds, and zinc. As falu red ages the binder deteriorates, leaving the color granules loose, but restoration is easy since simply brushing the surface is sufficient before repainting.
Fascinating! Thanks for this illuminating explanation, Tommy. I wonder about the impact of all that copper residue running off over the years, over decades into the ground and then being absorbed into garden plants and animals…
Very cool. It’s interesting to know why (even if I had never really considered it before). I bet the red color also comes in handy during white-outs when farmers needed to get to a barn to check on animals.
Ha! I love it. I bet you’re right, Katie.
I have also read that the white trim around the doors was used to provide contrast and made finding the barn at night during a storm easier and safer.
Greetings, Ed! Hope you’ve been well. Nothing like an architect to help unravel the mystery. Thanks. Makes sense to me, though staying inside the farmhouse next to the woodstove with some homemade moonshine and a freshly baked plateful of cookies sounds like a better way of handling a North Country storm… 😉
I’ll be at your place for the next storm.
Sounds good. I’ll provide the moonshine. You bake the cookies! 😉
Deal. We really should plan to get together sometime soon.
I agree. Polar bear plunge? I’ll shoot you a message.
Virginia farmers were the first to become paint-conscious. In Pennsylvania, the Dutch settlements latched on to the custom of red bricks, red barns, red geraniums, even reddish-brown cows. When a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer added big ornamental designs to barns, “just for luck,” he was accused of designing a hex sign to frighten the devil. Many old-timers sneered at their neighbors’ newly painted barns and accused them of copying “those superstitious Germans of Pennsylvania.”
But color caught on. Inasmuch as ready-made paint was not available, a farmer mixed his own. He discovered that skimmed milk, lime and red iron oxide made a plastic-like coating that hardened quickly and lasted for years. Occasionally, it hardened too well and peeled off in sheets. Linseed oil was subsequently added to the recipe to provide the necessary soaking quality. Thus American “barn red” was born. It came into being through function and utility, rather than decor or superstition. It was soon discovered that the red barn color was warmer in winter since it absorbed the sun’s rays.
Wow! This is fantastic, Monica. Thank you. 🙂
Great article and good comments.
There are many theories and reasons for red painted barns.
One well documented reason is rarely mentioned for some treason. Back in the 1600’s the copper mines m the region of Dalarna in Sweden produced about a third of the global copper at the time.. The waste material from the copper production has been used since then to make a low cost deep red pigment used as a base for making red paint. This paint is now called Falu red. ((from the copper mine in Falun town)
The red paint historically originated from various copper mines in Sweden. Most well known is the mine at Falun, in the province of Dalarna. In Finland, falu red is known as punamulta (“red earth”), after the pigment, which consists of finely divided hematite. Since the binder is starch, the paint is permeable to water. In Estonia, falu red is known as Rootsi punane (“Swedish red”) and is most common in Western Estonia in the former Coastal Swedish territory.
The earliest evidence of the use of falu red dates from the 16th century. During the 17th century, falu red was commonly used on smaller wooden mansions, where it was intended to imitate buildings with brick facing. In Swedish cities and towns, wooden buildings were often painted with falu red, until the early 19th century, when authorities began to oppose use of the paint. Increasingly many wooden buildings in urban areas had by then begun to be either painted in lighter colors such as yellow or white, or to be sided with stucco. The number of buildings made of bricks had also increased.
The paint consists of water, rye flour, linseed oil and tailings from the copper mines of Falun which contain silicates iron oxides, copper compounds, and zinc. As falu red ages the binder deteriorates, leaving the color granules loose, but restoration is easy since simply brushing the surface is sufficient before repainting.
:o)
Fascinating! Thanks for this illuminating explanation, Tommy. I wonder about the impact of all that copper residue running off over the years, over decades into the ground and then being absorbed into garden plants and animals…