Red, White and Ooh!

Twin Brooks Farm

Ashfield, Massachusetts

There are many theories as to why barns are painted red. Starting centuries ago, in Europe, farmers would seal the wood on their barns with linseed oil adding milk and lime to produce a long lasting paint that dried quickly.

Wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter, others added ferrous oxide (rust) to the mixture, and as it dried it would turn red.

Regardless of the method, red became fashionable because of the sharp contrast with the traditional white farmhouse.

My favorite theory is that during a snow storm, a red barn was easy to find.

Information obtained from the Internet.