Utah Heritage Foundation

Do you like cycling?  Love old barns?  Want to know why there’s an angel on this barn?  Planning is underway for the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area Bicycle Barnstorming tour June 2012.

The purpose of the event is to update and extend a barn guide done in conjunction with the national Barn Again! program in 1998.  Photos and text will be posted to a Facebook page on the fly to create a dynamic barn guide that will be made into a smartphone app and a printable PDF.

United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has proclaimed August 7-13, 2011 as National Farmers Market Week.

In honor of these efforts, please shop at your local Farmer’s Market this week. Heritage Area markets are located in Logan, Providence, Paradise and Richmond in Utah and Soda Springs and Montpelier in Idaho. See attached market and small farm listings. 

Every day this summer, communities are converging to celebrate a simple miracle: farmers, as stewards of rural America, coming together to share a harvest that’s feeding local families.  The result? More viable regional economies; increased access to fresh, nutritious food; and stronger social networks that help keep communities strong.  

A fabulous new brochure has been produced by the Bear River Heritage Area Alliance to take you on a tour of traditional farms, ranches, and historic structures in a seven county area of Northern Utah and Southern Idaho centered on the Cache Valley.  There's also a list of county fairs, roadside vendors, and other local celebrations in the brochure.  Interestingly, they've also included a list of abandoned buildings.  Really I see the buildings on this list as potential opportunities for redevelopment utilizing some fabulous buildings that have a history in the region's agricultural history.

View the tour brochure   here (1.29 Mb) .

As some may know, we've had some discussions at UHF as to whether or not there would ever be sufficient volunteer support to get a statewide barn alliance going in Utah.  We'd love to get some momentum behind documenting the fabulous physical agricultural heritage in the state, as well as start considering how best to put some additional resources behind supporting this for promotion, support, technical assistance, and rehabilitation.

Today's article in the Salt Lake Tribune about the Holmgren Barn in Tremonton from 1940 recalls such traditional construction that I'm discussing.  Though the structure is noteworthy, there is certainly family history that is worthy of documentation as well, making the story even richer.  Fortunately, the current generation realizes this and is interested in receiving those that would like to visit.

You can read more from the Salt Lake Tribune here.
More about Holmgren Historical Farm.

One of the few opportunities you have to tour Utah's fabulous pioneer era structures is coming up on Memorial Day weekend.  The Friends of Spring City is hosting their annual weekend event full of art, antiques, and great architecture that is worth the trip to Sanpete County.  It's a centerpiece of the county's Scandinavian Days Festival so its an occasion  rich with Utah history passed down to generations that you can pass down as well.

 

 

Utah barn owners and barn enthusiasts are invited to attend the second meeting of the Utah Barn Alliance on Wednesday, October 28th. Utah Heritage Foundation and the Bear River Heritage area are hosting the meeting to explore models of other barn alliances in the United States, how the alliance would be set up, what incentive programs are available for barn preservation, and what role the National Barn Alliance would play. The alliance is a community effort, so anyone interested in the preservation and rehabilitation of historic barns is welcome to bring their ideas.

The meeting will take place at 2:00 p.m. at Memorial House in Memory Grove Park, 485 North Canyon Road (120 East), Salt Lake City. Directions can be found at www.memorialhouse-utah.com.  At the gate to Memory Grove Park, use the call box on the west side to receive driver's entry into the park.

Hope you can make it! For more information contact Kirk Huffaker, Executive Director of Utah Heritage Foundation at 801-533-0858 x 105, e-mail kirk@utahheritagefoundation.org or Lisa Duskin-Goede, Coordinator, Bear River Heritage Area, at 435-713-1426, e-mail to lisad@brag.utah.gov

Utah barn owners and barn enthusiasts are invited to attend a meeting to discuss the formation of a Utah Barn Alliance. Utah Heritage Foundation and the Bear River Heritage Area are hosting an initial meeting to discuss forming an alliance to preserve and rehabilitate Utah's great historic barns. Topics to be introduced for discussion are: the need for an organization that will work toward the documentation and stabilization of Utah's historic barns, models of other barn alliances in the United States, how the alliance would be set up, and what role the National Barn Alliance could play. The alliance is a community effort, so anyone interested in preservation and rehabilitation of historic barns is welcome.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, September 15 at 10:00 a.m. at Memorial House in Memory Grove Park, 485 North Canyon Road (120 East), Salt Lake City. Directions can be found at www.memorialhouse-utah.com.  At the gate to Memory Grove Park, use the call box on the west side to receive driver's entry into the park.

To RSVP or for more information contact Kirk Huffaker, Executive Director of Utah Heritage Foundation at 801-533-0858 x 105, e-mail kirk@utahheritagefoundation.org or Lisa Duskin-Goede, Coordinator, Bear River Heritage Area, at 435-713-1426, e-mail to lisad@brag.utah.gov.