007-0037 Harnsberger Octagonal Barn

For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF

VLR Listing Date 12/16/1980

NRHP Listing Date 07/08/1982

NRHP Reference Number 82004541

Built ca. 1867 under the direction of local carpenter William Evers, this interesting looking structure is an unusual example of its type in Virginia and reflects the infiltration of popular architectural theories into the agricultural community of Augusta County following the Civil War. Although it was likely inspired by octagonal building styles popularized by the writer and theorist Orson Squire Fowler, the Harnsberger barn did not copy Fowler’s pattern-book designs directly. The builder instead combined these new ideas with more traditional local barn-building concepts, integrating the novel shape with the older bank barn form. The barn is still in regular use.

Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

Updated: November 12, 2020