The Heritage Barn Project
The Heritage Barn Project was started in 2004. Gwen embarked on a self-prescribed project to document on canvas in oil paint, historic barns throughout her home state of Indiana. Gwen had several motivations and goals. First, she felt the need and desire to hone her talents. Second, Gwen has a love of old barns stemming from her childhood. She was concerned about the demise of these historic barns and wanted to preserve these structures. She hoped her painting project would spotlight and help save these rural treasures.
The project took more than 12 years of travel and painting to complete 186 historic barn paintings. Why paint? Why not just photograph? Gwen believes our eyes see differently than a camera’s lens. Our eyes can see the delicate nuances of color within shadows and soft hues within reflected light. Our eyes see subtle variations in values.
Therefore, she chose to paint on location as much as possible. She often spent many hours and even days standing quietly observing a barn. Time to see and feel all the subtleties mentioned, but also the character of each barn to, in essence, capture the barn’s portrait.
Below are the 186 barns featured in Gwen’s published gallery book, “Heritage Barns of Indiana.” The paintings are searchable by county and each painting features a bit of history of the structure.
You can find “Heritage Barns of Indiana” online by clicking here or at various galleries and shops in Indiana. For more information about the book or Gwen’s work, please click here to contact Gwen.
All the barn paintings are for sale. Please contact Gwen to find out if the painting(s) you are interested in are sold or available.
Heaton Family Barn
The lower reaches of Ripley County drift into expansive and gently rolling hills, divided by large areas of flat farmland. The panoramic view from this barn is a lovely sight.
Otte-Webster Family Barn
Records on this barn are extensive since the barn has been in the Otte family since Johann Wilhelm Hienrick Otte constructed it in 1870. It has gone through many changes over time to reflect the trends in their farming operation.
Offutt-Clark-Winkler Dairy Barn
This little barn is all smiles. With a little imagination it appears to have a face! Picturesque countryside surrounds this little barn built in 1925. It was transplanted from its original location onto the top of this gentle hill with an old pasture and woods behind.
Offutt-Winkler Cattle Barn
Centuries of farming in this fertile land and the importance of The Little Blue River meandering nearby, speak to the agricultural importance throughout the area.
Jennings-Kimberlin Barn
The beautiful property where this barn is located was deeded to the Governor Jennings family in 1804. The original deed, on sheepskin, doesn't give a date for the barn; however, the nearby home was built in 1857.
Pound-Smith Family Barn
When Hezekiah Pound established this farm in 1817, he would have seen opportunity and beauty before him. it has been an active farm since then and is a Hoosier Homestead Farm.
Spiegel Family Barn
The age of this old bank barn is unknown. It is a three-level barn that is set back from the highway and surrounded by picturesque farmland. It was placed within the gentle slope of the hill. Doing so allowed easier access to the two upper levels, an advantage for the farming operation.
Wessler Family Barn
Carefully placed to overlook a vast and fertile flood plain near Big Blue River, this spectacular barn is as beautiful as its view. All the older buildings, including this barn, were carefully built for function, durability and aesthetics in their design.
Phillip Schmidt Barn
Barns can reflect the many evolutionary changes experienced in farming through time. Such is the case with this barn. The interior structure includes very old notched logs, some with bark and a few hand-hewn and pegged timbers mixed in with sawmill-cut boards.
Sherry Bell Tobacco Barn
This impressively tall gable barn is located on a slight incline with trees behind, making a picturesque scene. It was built in 1904 from pegged sawmill-cut timbers and was originally used as a cattle barn.
HDU Farms Barn
This elaborate and beautiful old barn is graced with details not often included on a barn. It is obvious that one of the main goals of the builder was to have an eye-pleasing structure as well as a sturdy and functional one. It has multiple double-arched louvered vents on both sides and on each gable end.
Spiher-Martin Family Barn
This bank barn is strategically placed on the side of a hill overlooking the rolling countryside of northwest St. Joseph County. The big red barn is a timber-framed forebay bank barn. It was built in 1881. An earlier barn on the farm had burned and some of the salvaged timbers, along with replacement Oak and Walnut timbers, were used in the construction of this beauty.
Wolski Family Barn
Leo Wolski purchased this rich farmland in 1909 and it has been in the same family since that time. It is located slightly east of San Pierre. In 2009, the farm earned the Indiana Hoosier Homestead Award.
Richard and Phyllis White Family Barn
The exact age of this small red barn is unknown. The family speculates that it was built in the 1910s. Very old barns are rare in this area, possibly due to the extensive Grand Kankakee Marsh that dominated this part of Starke County and other neighboring counties.
Glendale Farm Barn
This gable-roofed bank barn was built soon after the Kepler family home was built in 1864. The original barn was a standard rectangular shape. As farming needs expanded, Mr. Kepler had another barn moved in and attached.
Helton Barn
This gambrel-roofed bank barn was built circa 1877, in northern Steuben County. The original foundation of dressed stone continues to support this gem. Parts of the barn are original while other features have been added.
Drake Family Barn
Northern Sullivan County features fertile, fat farmland that also happens to provide the perfect spot for this barn to call home. The barn was built in 1936 or 1937, using Oak and Walnut harvested on the farm.
Allensville Hay Press Barn
The hay press barn and its regional history are unique to the areas in Indiana accessible by rivers and their tributaries. The hay press is a large mechanism weighing nearly 9500 pounds. It extends from the dirt floor of the lower level into the peak area.
Thiebaud Farmstead Hay Press Barn
The Switzerland County Historical Society acquired this barn and farm in 2004. The Thiebaud hay press barn, built circa 1855, was placed on a hillside overlooking the Ohio River. Although the hay press no longer exists in this barn, the significance of the structure in its location is obvious.
Kellerman Fourteen-Sided Barn
While Tippecanoe County is rich with history, not much is known about this barn's place in it. We do know it is a fourteen-sided "round" barn built with lighter-weight materials and a nailed frame. Inside is a central wood-stave silo that helps support the roof.
Click below to search for paintings from
the Heritage Barn Project by county.
Owen
Parke
Perry
Pike
Porter
Posey
Pulaski
Putnam
Randolph
Ripley
Rush
Scott
Shelby
Spencer
St. Joseph
Starke
Steuben
Sullivan
Switzerland
Tippecanoe
Tipton
Union
Vanderburgh
Vermillion
Vigo
Wabash
Warren
Warrick
Washington
Wayne
Wells
White
Whitley