You can’t drive through the green, pastoral country roads of Western North Carolina without seeing barns. It’s always fun to see a barn. Barns of all types and styles.  Barns mostly in a state of disrepair. Barns that aren’t going to be in existence for the next generation to enjoy. I can’t imagine these mountain landscapes without barns.

The Appalachian Barn Alliance was created to preserve the memories of these barns and document their significant role in the history and development of this rural region. Through architectural drawings, photographs, and data collection the group has documented about 90 historic barns in Madison County, North Carolina.

Through friends in Asheville, we were lucky to find out about a fundraising event in conjunction with Saints of Paint and 19 well-known professional artists participating. The artists immortalized various barns in the region through their paintings. Pleased to support this worthy cause, we are now proud owners of the oil painting pictured above.  By Tebbe Davis, it features the 1918 Wild barn, one of only six in Walnut Township with a monitor roof. Claude Wild was a peddler and it is believed he brought the plans for the barn from his travels to Tennessee. This barn was used for livestock.

The Appalachian Barn Alliance has developed both guided and self-guided barn tours as well as other events.  For info check out the website for the Appalachian Barn Alliance.