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Last updated on Tuesday, October 24, 2017
(MONROE CO.) - The Monroe County Barn Tour, a fund raising event to benefit the Indiana Barn Foundation, is a self-guided tour featuring 13 barns and outbuildings at 9 locations, from Bloomington and its environs to the county’s outlying corners.
The self-guided tour will take place on Saturday, October 28, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tour tickets are $10 advance, $15 the day of the tour, and under 15 years free.
Visitors can also see the 2016 Bicentennial Barn Project Traveling Tour now until November 13th at the Wylie House Museum's Morton C. Bradley, Jr. Education Center, a relocated barn at 307 E. Second Street. Admission to the barn plaque exhibit is free.
The barns vary in age, type, and use, from a dairy barn converted for horses and named an Indiana Bicentennial Barn to a dairy barn reused as the studio of limestone sculptor, Dale Enochs. The artistic traditions of the area will also be featured at Whippoorwill Hill, a historic working farm that is home to a rare c.1840s double crib log barn. The second barn on the property, a historic barn relocated from Shelbyville, IN, for reuse as event space, will host the Upland Plein Air Artists exhibit and paint-out. Kyle Clifton, owner of Indiana Barns LLC, will also be on hand to talk about his company's work relocating and rebuilding the barn.
Other stops on the tour include a rehabilitated 1855 English threshing type barn, a c.1885 Transverse frame barn originally part of a dairy operation, a small c.1940 log barn made from a re-purposed cabin, an 1850s barn relocated from Northern Indiana for use on a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm and also named a 2016 Indiana Bicentennial Barn, and an early 1900 Transverse frame barn that is part of the 7th generation family farm of Monroe County's Purdue Extension Officer. The dairy barn and three farm buildings at the Hinkle-Garton Farmstead Museum & Historic Site are also part of the tour, with the corn crib housing the "Harvesting at the Farmstead" exhibit. Inside the 1892 main house will be live music and the rural still life photography exhibit of Jon Benson.
Tour goers are also invited to visit the 2016 Bicentennial Barn Project Traveling Tour from October 2nd through November 13th at the Wylie House Museum's Morton C. Bradley, Jr. Education Center, a relocated barn at 307 E. Second Street. Exhibited will be ten framed barn plaques by Scott County's Indiana Artisan, Dorrel Harrison. Admission to the barn plaque exhibit is free.
Advance tickets (cash or check) are available at the Visit Bloomington Visitors Center, 2855 N. Walnut Street; the Monroe County Purdue Extension office, 3400 S. Walnut Street; or online with credit card at the Indiana Barn Foundation website at www.indianabarns.org. Day-of tour tickets will be sold at two of the tour sites only, the Hinkle-Garton Farmstead, 2920 E. 10th Street, and the Munson Family Barn, 6707 W. Rockeast Road. Credit card purchases must be made online.
A block of rooms has been reserved at a reduced rate until September 20th at the Fairfield Inn, 120 S. Fairfield Drive, (812) 331-1122. Mention Monroe County Barn Tour. Those traveling from out-of-town or who wish to make a weekend stay in Bloomington are encouraged to take advantage of the offer as hotel availability is at a premium in October.
For updated information about the tour, follow the Barns of Monroe County Facebook page. Follow us on Instagram at #monroecountyinbarns. Thank you to our tour sponsors, Visit Bloomington, Steve, Kathy and Sarah Headley with Headley Quarter Horses, Scott McDonald with Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Joseph Aldridge with Northwestern Mutual, and Whippoorwill Hill.
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