Because May is Historic Preservation Month, it’s important to pay tribute to this barn and its noteworthy architectural style known as fachwerk.

Fachwerk, or framework, is the German name for timber-frame architecture found throughout Europe, particularly in areas where timber was in short supply. Builders used hewed-lumber for the skeletal framework and then filled in the remainder of the wall with burned or dried brick.

According to William Tischler, in his article Fachwerk Construction in the German Settlements of Wisconsin¹, fachwerk was popular among German Lutherans who emigrated during the 1800’s from Germany’s northern areas of Brandenburg and Pomerania and then settled in Dodge, Jefferson, Washington and Osaukee Counties of Wisconsin. They built houses, threshing barns, stables, woodsheds, granaries and even churches in the fachwerk style of construction.

Our fachwerk barn fits into this era. Several years ago, a man passing by noticed our barn and stopped to chat. Interestingly, he worked at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor museum dedicated to rural life, and was familiar with the historical construction of Wisconsin barns. Based on the angles and structure of the beams, this gentleman estimated our barn to be built before 1850.

So how cool is that! The barn my husband regularly uses as a workshop and the building we occasionally enjoy as a party barn is over a 150-years-old. My husband tuckpoints. He replaces rotted beams. He keeps a good roof overhead. But like all old buildings, repair and restoration is a way of life with this old barn.

Today, fachwerk buildings are few and far between. Many are covered with siding, as ours once was. Many more have fallen into disrepair and are lost forever. Our goal, for as long as we can, is to preserve our fachwerk barn and the heritage it represents.

¹ Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Winter, 1986), pp. 275-292

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May is Preservation Month and the National Trust for Historic Preservation has an interesting theme for this year’s campaign—This Place Matters. According to their site, the campaign “is designed to help people share the place that matter to them, wherever these places happen to be. By simply printing a sign and taking a picture, you can tell the story about a place that matters to you.”

To date, 60 people or organizations have posted pictures of places that matter and brief explanations of why. Others have gone even further and posted YouTube videos. From public buildings, to homes, to bridges, this is an interesting collection of what people are doing to preserve places that matter to our heritage and our history.

So, do you have a place that matters to you? Post it on This Place Matters!

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So, while we’re doing all this walking, my favorite thing to see is the architecture. As a lover of old houses, I find the rowhouse especially intriguing, partly because of its historical representation and partly because its not a common style here in the Midwest.

When I accompanied my daughter on her housing hunt a few years ago, I had the opportunity to see the interiors of several rowhouses. Like most old houses, they had architectural elements you just don’t find in newly built homes and apartments—parquet floors, beautiful woodwork and bow-front windows. And like many old houses, these particular buildings needed lots of work and money!

According to the National Association to Restore Pride in America’s Capitol (NARPAC), rowhouses were built “en masse during the city’s temporary population explosion prior to World War II.” Also known as brownstones or townhouses (though technically there’s a difference), these multi-story structures were built as a series of side-by-side houses joined by a common wall. They varied in architectural style and prestige according to the neighborhood and era in which they were built.

The demographics of today’s rowhouse dweller has changed from years ago. The rowhouses themselves have also changed. The houses originally were built as single-family units for an average family of father, mother and 3-4 children. Today many of the rowhouses have been converted to condos and apartments and, according to NARPAC, the average occupants are singles, single parents, empty-nesters or elderly.

And so, with May being Historic Preservation Month, it’s important to applaud groups such as NARPAC, Mi Casa and other historic preservation organizations. These organizations recognize the value of places that matter, including rowhouses. They work to preserve their historical integrity and bring urban revitalization to many Washington D.C. neighborhoods.

Kudos, from an appreciative visitor to your town!

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