Historic Barn Exhibit at the Dayton Depot

Photos and brief histories of more than 55 old barns in Columbia County are on display in the Depot's upstairs exhibit area.

Story and photos (of photos) by Ken Graham

The Dayton Historical Depot Society is currently displaying an exhibit of photos and brief histories of more than 55 older barns in Columbia County. The exhibit is in the upstairs of the depot and includes hundreds of recent photographs.

Depot Society Board member Duane Dunlap spent most of last year scouting the barns and making contacts with barn owners. He did most of the research about the barns as well. Justin Jaech, also a Depot Society Board member, did all of the photography and photo mounting for the exhibit.

The current barn exhibit includes only about half of the older barn structures still standing in Columbia County. The Depot Society hopes to continue researching and photographing more local barns in the near future.

Many styles of barns can be found in Columbia County, but most fall within the category of "Western Barns". These include both "Gabled" and "Broken Gabled" (such as the Pettichord barn above).

For more information about the barn exhibit, contact the Dayton Historic Depot at (509) 382-2026 or email depot1881@bmi.net. The depot is located at the corner of Second and Commercial Streets, near downtown Dayton.

Top to bottom: The Pettichord Barn, circa 1890. A view of the photo display in the Dayton Historic Depot's upstairs exhibit area. The Hoskins barn, circa late 1800s. This barn was once a livery stable in downtown Dayton before being moved to the North Touchet. A closer view of the Hoskins barn. A display showing the Kelly Allen Barn, circa 1900 and the old Smith Hollow School, which was also built aroud 1900. The Blue Mountain Heritage Society has raised funds to move the Smith Hollow School to a location
near downtown Dayton.