Talk:Pennsylvania barn

Central PA barns
The Central Pennsylvania barn may be viewed as a slightly different entity than other Pennsylvania barn schemes. While most Pennsylvania barns use the bank barn ideology, the Central Pennsylvania barns, which include Lancaster, York, Lebanon and Dauphin counties, are built to specific measures. Most of these structures, especially in Pennsylvania Dutch or Amish communities, are constructed on an immense scale. These buildings are typically 100 plus feet in length and 50 feet in depth into the "bank," creating a geometrically sound 2 to 1 scale to maximize space. Additionally, the barns are built into the landscape of central Pennsylvania and utilize the unique qualities of the regions weather patterns. This includes a fairly uniform "East to west" design in length, which allows three specific protecive measures. First, it allows the forebay to be heated by the southern sun in the winter. Also, a lesser surface area to the north part of the bank barn keeps the barn cool in the summer. Lastly, the shorter width of the barn faces both the east and west, which minimizes the destructive measures and inclement dangers of storms. In a brief summary, these barns are unique to the area and symbolize the immense knowledge that early German agriculturalists possessed when they first started farming one of the most fertile portions of the US terrain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fackler1332 (talk • contribs) 01:52, 19 May 2008 (UTC)