Sherman County Historical Museum’s Artist Series features photographs of Sherman County Barns by amateur photographer Carol MacKenzie during the month of August.
MacKenzie preserves a record of twenty 100-year-old barns used for the care and feeding of draft horses and mules used to power farm machinery. Barns and sheds sheltered cattle, milk cows and hogs, as well. Some settlers built their homestead cabins and substantial barns before constructing permanent family homes.
Orren Avery Ramsey built the Pinkerton, Experiment Station, Moore, DeMoss and Walker barns and a number of houses. Milon Van Gilder built several barns and the Locust Grove United Brethren Church.
Coming from the Willamette Valley eleven years ago, Carol and her husband, Bill, knew little about old-time wheat production. Carol began to photograph barns and other interesting structures in the county in 2009. She is gathering oral histories in the process of collecting the history of the barns and outbuildings.
These 20 photographs will be on display in the lobby of the Museum August 1-31 to remind us of barns and simpler times, farmers milking and feeding cows, sturdy lofts and mangers of sweet smelling hay, farm tools, barn cats and horse tail hair in the crevices of the stalls, all solid reminders of sturdy, hard-working farmers and ranchers.
MacKenzie reminds viewers that barns and other outbuildings are on private property, solemn relics of earlier days, so honestly built that they’re still standing in spite of barn wood scavengers, fires, wind and weather.
