John Messer Barn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Messer Barn
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Tennessee
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | southeast of Gatlinburg near Greenbrier Cove in GSMNP |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Gatlinburg, Tennessee |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1875 |
| NRHP reference No. | 76000166 |
| Added to NRHP | January 1, 1976 |
The John Messer Barn is a really old and special building located inside the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Sevier County, Tennessee. You can find it along the Porters Creek Trail in a pretty area called the Greenbrier valley.
This barn was built a long time ago, in 1875, by a person named Pinkney Whaley. Later, the Whaley family sold their farm, and it was bought by John H. Messer. He was married to Pinkney's cousin, Lucy. In the 1930s, a group called the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club used the barn. They even built a cabin nearby!
The Messer Barn is super important because it's the last building left from the old Greenbrier Cove community. This community was there before the national park was created. Because it's so special, the barn was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. This means it's officially recognized as a historic treasure! Just so you know, there's another Messer Barn in Cataloochee, but that one was built by John's cousin, Will Messer. So, don't get them mixed up!
What Makes the Messer Barn Special?
The Messer Barn is a unique type of building called a "double-cantilever barn." These barns are mostly found in East Tennessee, especially in Sevier, Blount, and Cocke counties. They are pretty rare!
Barn Design and Size
This barn has one main story and a hayloft above, which is where hay is stored. It measures about 25 feet (7.6 meters) wide by 45 feet (13.7 meters) long.
The roof of the Messer Barn is a gabled roof, which means it has two sloping sides that meet at a ridge. What's cool about double-cantilever barns is that their roofs stick out a lot. This big overhang helps protect animals from bad weather like rain or snow. Unlike some other barns of this type, the Messer Barn's roof overhang is held up by strong poles along its outer edge.
Inside the Barn
The bottom part of the barn, its foundation, is made of dry field stones. These stones are stacked without any mortar. One side of the foundation is higher than the other to help the barn sit level on the sloped ground.
Inside the barn, there are two main areas, called "pens." Each pen is divided into two smaller stalls. In the very middle of the barn, there's a "drive-through" area. This space allowed wagons or carts to pass through the barn, making it easier to load and unload hay or other farm supplies.
The outer walls of the barn are built from wooden boards. However, the pens inside are made from hewn logs. This means the logs were shaped by hand using tools like axes. The hayloft, where the hay was kept, has poles set about two feet apart to support it.
