Off Highway 108 East of Carrollton turn North on Wrights Road follow curves in road barn is on south side of Road.

The Kuhnline-Joehl Barn stands across the road from where the original Joe Minch built Gimmy barn once stood. Now owned by the Joel Family, it was originally owned by Frances Kuhnline. It is believed that this was also constructed by Mr. Minch himself.

According to local oral history passed down through the generations, it is thought to be one of the very first barns in the county featuring the well known porthole openings. Used as ventilators, they are placed only on the gable end of the barn facing the roadway. More than likely this was done for visual effect as they form a triangular pattern matching the decline of the gable roof line.

The Kuhnline Barn is also a timber framed barn of circular sawn oak and another example of the New England Bay style barn. The roof line is considered a Saltbox or Lean-to with a rectangular design plan and the added section to the  west side of the barn. The roof itself is called a broken gable roof as the longer side is not completely straight and there is a slight break in the decline.

The forty-two foot long structure was built using mortise and tenon joints that produce “bents”  which are the foundations of the bays. There is a driveway reaching twelve feet in the center bay of the barn surrounded by two fifteen foot bays on the sides. Girts that are six inches wide and eight inches high support joists measured at 2’ x 10”. These create the loft area above the two end bays. There was once an overhead hay carrying track in the center bay that has since been replaced with additional loft space.

This barn is similar to most barns of the Bay style built in the nineteenth century. It would have primarily been used as a horse barn or for the stabling of other livestock. One area on the north side has been enclosed for storage while the gable end wall of the south side has been removed for loafing space for livestock. And the lean-to hitting  twenty-two feet wide was also used for loafing.

Like many of the other porthole windowed barns, the louvers are actually rectangular behind a circular opening and the exterior is covered in a board and batten siding. The traditional barn red paint and white trimmed windows help this structure pop from its rural backdrop.

The Kunline-Joehl Barn Quilt, the North Star is sponsored by South Side Hardware of Greenfield.

Quilt 5 Kuhnline-Joehl Barn