An annual tour in Jennings County will have different sites to see: barns instead of homes and gardens.
The Jennings County Historical Society is collaborating with the Indiana Barn Federation for a barn tour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 23. Participants will be able to tour Yankee and transverse barns dating from the 1860s through the 1930s along State Roads 3 and 7 in Jennings County.
“We want to do this because we want to give the opportunity for people to get in and take a look at the barns they just pass by on the highway,” said Chris Asher, a spokesperson for the barn tour. “We also thought it would be a lot of fun and something different, a way for people to experience our farming heritage.”
The tour will also feature several activities at some of the barns, including a hayride and a hot dog roast. A vintage jewelry and clothing sale will be at one of the barns, hosted by the Vernon Clionian Society, the oldest womens club in Indiana.
The Oak Grove Farm and Stables will feature its stables built in 1925 and standard-bred trotting horses. At various times during the tour, a horse hooked to a training cart will be seen trotting around the track.
Predating tractor-drawn balers, one of the barns was originally used as a hay press barn, and once bailed hay to ship across the country on the railroad system.
One of the oldest barns of the tour is located on the grounds of the Stream Cliff Herb Farm, and tour participants will be allowed to roam the grounds and visit the Stream Cliff plant sales, tea room and winery.
The route of the tour also follows several Jennings County landmarks, including four historic cemeteries and two covered bridges.
Maps of the tour route, a complete list and descriptions of all of the barns and a list of all included activities will be available at the North American House, 134 E. Brown St. in Vernon, on the day of the tour.
Tickets cost $10 in advance and $12 the day of the tour. Funds raised during the tour will benefit both the Jennings County Historical Society and the Indiana Barn Federation.
The IBF’s purpose is preserving Indiana’s historic barns and its farming legacy.
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Tickets to the barn tour cost $10 in advance and $12 the day of the tour.
They are available through the Indiana Barn Federation website under “events” at indianabarns.org. Tickets are also available on the Jennings County Historical Society website, jenningscounty.org, or at the North American House, 134 E. Brown St. in Vernon during the hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
For more information, call the historical society at 812-436-8989.
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