Saving Connecticut’s barns -- Free

The South Windsor Historical Society will present a program on saving Connecticut’s barns Jan. 10. The program, which is free and open to the public will be held at Wood Memorial Library, 783 Main St., South Windsor, at 7 p.m.
Todd Levine, a representative of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, will talk about taking a “windshield survey” of local barns, a project involving taking a digital photo of a barn from a safe public place, recording basic information, and inputting it into the Connecticut Barn Website (www.connecticutbarns.org) for review. The data can then be retrieved by those interested in saving the history of important agricultural structures.
Mr. Levine notes, “Until recently historic barns in Connecticut have not been completely documented. Outbuildings and barns had rarely been included in the National Registry of Historic Places. In the last decade their historic significance was realized in evaluating an historic site. Barns are disappearing from the Connecticut landscape by slow decay or by being razed for new construction. With each barn lost we lose another piece of our rich agricultural history.”
“Every town in our historic state, including South Windsor, has barns and outbuildings that should be saved either by restoration or by a digital camera,” he adds.
Anna Fiori, historical society program chair, encourages South Windsor residents to participate in the project. She said, “If you have photos of South Windsor barns bring them to this meeting. We would enjoy seeing them and perhaps you will allow us to make copies for our archives.”
For more information about the historical society and its activities,
call 860-291-9958 or visit www.southwindsorhistory.tk