Two Singmaster Barns
by Gregory D. Huber
John Adam Singmaster Barn, Macungie, Lehigh County, PA
From the Historic American Buildings Survey Project of the National Park Service;
Photographed for the 1941 Pennsylvania German Barn Project
sponsored by the American Institute of Architects;
Charles H. Dornbusch, A.I.A., Photographer; Summer 1941
(Library of Congress, Washington, DC; HABS No. PA-5312-1)
From the Historic American Buildings Survey Project of the National Park Service;
Photographed for the 1941 Pennsylvania German Barn Project
sponsored by the American Institute of Architects;
Charles H. Dornbusch, A.I.A., Photographer; Summer 1941
(Library of Congress, Washington, DC; HABS No. PA-5312-1)
Two barns don't make an entire world or even a small town like Macungie. But two barns, both built by different members of the Singmaster family, can give us an excellent perspective of how barns generally appeared in the first half of the nineteenth century in our area of southeast Pennsylvania.
It should be immediately understood that barns appeared in our town, and the immediate vicinity, as early as the second quarter of the eighteenth century. They were apparently of log construction - the earliest type of barn that pioneers erected. They satisfied the specific needs of agrarian people 250 years ago. But times changed and it is now unlikely that any barn, even within a mile or two of Macungie, predates 1800; and no log barns remain within the village. Most barns in the surrounding area postdate about 1830. This timeframe was the heyday of barn building in southeast Pennsylvania. In fact, it was probably in the middle third of the nineteenth century that many of the original log barns were replaced by barns like the ones at the two Singmaster farms. Please be aware, however, that no proof of this exists.
The two Singmaster barns were situated less than a quarter mile from each other and are of distinctly different sizes. We will first look at the large barn that formerly stood just off East Main Street (Route 100), behind the Elite Fitness Center. This barn stood on the John Adam Singmaster property, now a part of Macungie Memorial Park. In 1810, Singmaster bought the farm from his father-in-law, Rev. Jacob van Buskirk. The large stone barn was probably constructed around this time, or perhaps a few years later. Its fundamental style is known as a standard Pennsylvania forebay barn with a symmetrical roof silhouette. It is one of three classes of Pennsylvania barns that have been identified. The standard form is unlike the earlier forebay style switzer barn that has an asymmetrical roof outline. The forebay in both styles is the upper level of the barn that overhangs the stable wall of the basement floor, from about four feet to as much as fifteen feet, depending on the barn. These barns are always of two levels and are banked at one side wall. Many thousands of forebay barns still dot the cultural landscape in southeast Pennsylvania and beyond. Forebay barns have European origins in the cantons of eastern Switzerland.
The John Adam Singmaster barn was over 75 feet long and about 40 feet wide. Its two end walls were of continuous stone construction clear to the roof peak. Other forebay barns utilize stone construction only to the eave level, while others are of frame construction with exterior siding that protects interior timbers. Two distinct floor levels characterized this Singmaster barn. The basement level provided areas for the stabling of farm animals. They entered and exited the barn principally through doors below the forebay. The upper level was segmented into several units or bays. One bay near the middle of the barn had a dual function, for both the threshing of farm crops and as a floored area where loaded hay wagons entered at the rear or banked side of the barn. The contents of the wagons were distributed to the haymows on either side of the threshing bay. The very large size of the barn was proof of the fertile grounds that the Singmaster farm must have occupied. The fields had to have yielded bounteous crops, requiring large areas of storage, which the barn would have provided.
This Singmaster barn had a rare feature. A circular recess, about four feet in diameter, was located just under the peak at one end wall. The recess housed wooden boards with a painted barn star, or a painted date, or both. Barn stars are more popularly known today as hex signs. Contrary to accepted wisdom that barn stars, or hex signs, were painted on barns starting after the Civil War, there is good evidence that they were affixed to some Pennsylvania barns as early as about 1820. These circular recesses have now been found on about 20 barns in Lehigh, Berks, and Chester counties.
Each gable or end wall of the barn had about a dozen louvered windows that functioned as ventilation for stored farm produce. At the basement level, on one of the end walls, were two side-by-side doors that had the overhanging hoods typical of many barns in the greater Lehigh Valley. These doors added an extra touch of quaintness to an already archaic form of building. One very unusual trait was found on the bank side of the barn - a wide, stone-arched door opening that led into a wagon storage area.
Despite its very prominent size and obvious importance in the local agricultural community, the John Adam Singmaster stone forebay barn was razed during the late 1940s, as part of the agreement of sale to the Macungie Memorial Park Association. It was certainly one of the biggest barns ever located in Macungie.
It should be immediately understood that barns appeared in our town, and the immediate vicinity, as early as the second quarter of the eighteenth century. They were apparently of log construction - the earliest type of barn that pioneers erected. They satisfied the specific needs of agrarian people 250 years ago. But times changed and it is now unlikely that any barn, even within a mile or two of Macungie, predates 1800; and no log barns remain within the village. Most barns in the surrounding area postdate about 1830. This timeframe was the heyday of barn building in southeast Pennsylvania. In fact, it was probably in the middle third of the nineteenth century that many of the original log barns were replaced by barns like the ones at the two Singmaster farms. Please be aware, however, that no proof of this exists.
The two Singmaster barns were situated less than a quarter mile from each other and are of distinctly different sizes. We will first look at the large barn that formerly stood just off East Main Street (Route 100), behind the Elite Fitness Center. This barn stood on the John Adam Singmaster property, now a part of Macungie Memorial Park. In 1810, Singmaster bought the farm from his father-in-law, Rev. Jacob van Buskirk. The large stone barn was probably constructed around this time, or perhaps a few years later. Its fundamental style is known as a standard Pennsylvania forebay barn with a symmetrical roof silhouette. It is one of three classes of Pennsylvania barns that have been identified. The standard form is unlike the earlier forebay style switzer barn that has an asymmetrical roof outline. The forebay in both styles is the upper level of the barn that overhangs the stable wall of the basement floor, from about four feet to as much as fifteen feet, depending on the barn. These barns are always of two levels and are banked at one side wall. Many thousands of forebay barns still dot the cultural landscape in southeast Pennsylvania and beyond. Forebay barns have European origins in the cantons of eastern Switzerland.
The John Adam Singmaster barn was over 75 feet long and about 40 feet wide. Its two end walls were of continuous stone construction clear to the roof peak. Other forebay barns utilize stone construction only to the eave level, while others are of frame construction with exterior siding that protects interior timbers. Two distinct floor levels characterized this Singmaster barn. The basement level provided areas for the stabling of farm animals. They entered and exited the barn principally through doors below the forebay. The upper level was segmented into several units or bays. One bay near the middle of the barn had a dual function, for both the threshing of farm crops and as a floored area where loaded hay wagons entered at the rear or banked side of the barn. The contents of the wagons were distributed to the haymows on either side of the threshing bay. The very large size of the barn was proof of the fertile grounds that the Singmaster farm must have occupied. The fields had to have yielded bounteous crops, requiring large areas of storage, which the barn would have provided.
This Singmaster barn had a rare feature. A circular recess, about four feet in diameter, was located just under the peak at one end wall. The recess housed wooden boards with a painted barn star, or a painted date, or both. Barn stars are more popularly known today as hex signs. Contrary to accepted wisdom that barn stars, or hex signs, were painted on barns starting after the Civil War, there is good evidence that they were affixed to some Pennsylvania barns as early as about 1820. These circular recesses have now been found on about 20 barns in Lehigh, Berks, and Chester counties.
Each gable or end wall of the barn had about a dozen louvered windows that functioned as ventilation for stored farm produce. At the basement level, on one of the end walls, were two side-by-side doors that had the overhanging hoods typical of many barns in the greater Lehigh Valley. These doors added an extra touch of quaintness to an already archaic form of building. One very unusual trait was found on the bank side of the barn - a wide, stone-arched door opening that led into a wagon storage area.
Despite its very prominent size and obvious importance in the local agricultural community, the John Adam Singmaster stone forebay barn was razed during the late 1940s, as part of the agreement of sale to the Macungie Memorial Park Association. It was certainly one of the biggest barns ever located in Macungie.
The Singmaster/Kalmbach Barn
Singmaster/Kalmbach Farm, Macungie, Lehigh County, PA
William Mickley Weaver, Photographer; Circa 1887
From the Macungie Historical Society Collection
William Mickley Weaver, Photographer; Circa 1887
From the Macungie Historical Society Collection
The second Singmaster barn, the only regular hay barn that remains within the entire borough of Macungie, is located at Kalmbach Memorial Park along Cotton Street, near the southwest boundary of the borough. Its date of construction is approximately 1850. It is of more modest proportions than the first Singmaster barn. The side wall measures just over 55 feet long and the end walls measure close to 34 feet long. Its smaller dimensions imply a farm of either less fertile ground, or less acreage under tillage, or a combination of both. The barn is also of stone construction to the roof peak but is not adorned with the very rare circular recesses. It too is a standard forebay barn. Its forebay overshoots the stable walls by only about 3 feet, which is typical of many of these standard barns. At each end wall at the basement level, just in front of the stable wall, is an alcove or pier corner. It is called peiler eck in the local German dialect. Many barns in Lehigh County have this refinement. Like the first barn, this Singmaster barn also originally had a wagon shed at the far or north end of the barn with the very rare stone-arched opening that is now filled in with stone and partially covered with piled-up earth. The stable wall faces the southeast, as do so many barns of all kinds in Pennsylvania, so that the sun could warm farm animals and also humans who so often worked in the adjacent barnyard.
The Singmaster/Kalmbach barn has gone through a number of modifications through the years, as has happened to the vast majority of barns in the northeast. These changes are most evident in the basement, due to both the changing farm economies during much of the twentieth century, and the extensive renovation work that was done to create the Bolasky Hall auditorium in 1995. All of the original mangers and feeding aisles or fudergang have been removed, and accommodations, including lavatory facilities, have been provided for the use of audiences attending various functions and lectures. All surfaces except original overhead beams or joists have been dry-walled and painted, and all of the original stable doors have been removed. The second floor or loft level still has most of its authentic structural fabric intact including its hand-hewn framing units or bents. As in the first barn, the middle area provided an entryway for hay wagons and floor space for threshing grains. At either side were hay mows for the storage of various farm crops. Presently, this floor is utilized for the storage of equipment incidental to the maintenance of the park. In 2000, exterior work was done to remove the stucco coating and repoint the original stone walls. The barn is currently in excellent condition and should last for many more generations.
There are other barns in the immediate area that have definite similarities to the two Singmaster barns, but they also have their own distinctness. They all have their own stories to be told. It is plain to see that the barns built and used by the Singmaster families were only a small part of the early agricultural community in Macungie. They do, however, give us a good general sense of the barns that were used 150 to 200 years ago by farmers who practiced farming in a manner far removed from anything now done in the Lehigh Valley.
Editor's Note: Gregory D. Huber is a recognized scholar and architectural historian, and an historic house and barn consultant. He is the owner of Past Perspectives - a Macungie based historical and cultural resources company specializing in historic deed searches, dating of historic buildings, and family homestead histories. In 1997 he was awarded the New Netherland Project’s Alice P. Kenney Award for his outstanding contributions in furthering the public appreciation of the Dutch-American culture. He has written more than 60 articles on vernacular house and barn architecture of the northeast, and is the editor of The New World Dutch Barn (Second Edition). In 2003, The New World Dutch Barn received the Allen G. Noble award for the best edited book on material culture in North America.
Over the years, Mr. Huber has examined and documented thousands of pre-Civil War barns throughout much of the northeast, and in 1995, he discovered the earliest known Pennsylvania standard barn, built in 1792. His latest work, Stone Houses: Traditional Homes of Pennsylvania's Bucks County and Brandywine Valley, which he co-authored with Margaret Bye Richie and John D. Milner, was released by Rizzoli, New York in Spring 2005.
For more information, go to www.easternbarns.com, contact Greg Huber at 610-967-5808, or email to [email protected].
Copyright (c) 2002-2014 by the Macungie Historical Society, Inc. All Rights Reserved.