FOB's annual barn tour, conference coming soon
Friends of Ohio Barns board and members invite the public to celebrate historic barns, recognized as the official symbol of Ohio, at the 24th annual barn tour and conference in Stark County on Thursday, April 24 through Saturday, April 26.
Full registration includes a tour of five barns and lunch on Friday. Saturday’s all-day conference will feature educational presentations, lunch, Barn of the Year awards, a member meeting and the silent auction. Reservations are required online at www.friendsofohiobarns.org/annual-conference for all three days and will close April 22.
To kick off the conference on Thursday afternoon, registered guests will have the opportunity to tour the Haines House Underground Railroad Museum, see a timber-framed barn and attend a reception in an event barn with refreshments. This is an additional function to the tour and conference. Space is limited.
Friday’s barn bus tour will feature stops at five historic timber-framed barns, plus a lunch break in the Eastern Stark County areas of Louisville and Alliance. One of the barns is highlighted by the farm’s original land deed, which was signed by the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, as well as the father of the Constitution, James Madison. This event sells out quickly and is on a first come, first served basis.
Saturday’s conference will be held at the Foltz Community Center in East Canton. The slate of speakers includes Penn State University’s Dr. Lindsay Cook, America’s leading art historian on the Gothic cathedral Notre-Dame, and Jackson DuBois, executive director of North America’s Timber Framers Guild, who will present a detailed history of Notre-Dame and its complete timber framed roof restoration following the cathedral’s 2019 fire. DuBois was one of the few Americans given the honor of utilizing his timber framing skills on the cathedral’s spire.
Looking further back in time, Kathleen Wiechaus-Voss will showcase the legacy of Swiss artist Ferdinand A. Brader, who came to America in the 1870s and traveled west, creating 980 numbered graphite drawings of Pennsylvania and Ohio farmsteads, of which over 200 have been discovered to date. The Canton Museum of Art presented a major exhibition of his work during winter 2014-15.
Todd Kleismit, executive director of America 250, will showcase the efforts Ohio is making in preparation for the United States of America’s 250th anniversary, which will culminate July 4, 2026.
Barn Detectives Capt. Christian and Lt. Troth will share their observations from the Friday Barn Tour.
Be sure to bring your “treasures” to donate for the silent auction, which raises funds to help defray conference costs.
Friends of Ohio Barns is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership-based organization created to promote awareness of the significance of Ohio’s historic barns through educational opportunities that bring together barn owners, barn lovers and people who believe in the stewardship of Ohio barns.
For more information email friendsohiobarns@gmail.com.