Conduct Survey

The Barn Survey can be done by one person or by a group of people. No special knowledge or expertise is required to do the survey – just a car, a town map, a camera, and a Barn Survey Form. The Barn Survey is hard to do in the summer when foliage obstructs the view.

When completed, you will have a preliminary count, or census, of all the historic barns in town, a map of the barns’ locations, a photograph of each barn, and an evaluation of their need for repair.

Preparation

• Contact SaveVermontBarns for a list of known historic barns in your town.
• Obtain a copy of the current map of all town roads from your Town Clerk.
• Download and print a Barn Survey Form for each barn.

NOTE: All forms and instructions presented on this site are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to be viewed. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge here. Users on dial-up connections may experience some delays with larger files. If you have problems downloading forms or instructions, please

• Download and print a copy of the Barn Survey Instructions for each surveyor.

Equipment

• Camera. Photos taken with a digital camera can be downloaded into the computer at the end of the day, and each image can be identified and labeled. The images can then be printed and made part of your project record and report.

Safety Issues

• Traffic. Be careful when stopping to collect data and take photographs.
• Property owner or resident concern about your activity. Carry something (letter, newsclipping, printout from this website) describing the project to give to the owner/resident, and take the opportunity to talk about what you are doing.

Optional

• Depending on the time of year, you may want to take sunglasses, sunscreen, hat, cellphone, binoculars, GPS, and fluids.
• You may decide to combine some of the Barn Assessment with the Barn Survey. If so, bring blank copies of form: Assessment Part I: Barn Exterior from Road.

Conducting the Survey

1. On the road

• Explore all roads in town.
• Stop for any structure that looks like a barn over 50 years or is one of the town's known historic barns. If in doubt, include the structure in the Barn Survey.
• Mark the site on the road map.
• Photograph the barn.
• On the Barn Survey Form, enter the following:
• the street name and the 911 number
• the owners’ name if it is on the mailbox
• the condition of the barn
• a sketch map of the property, if possible
• Check the Barn Survey Instructions.

2. In the Town Office

• Obtain property number and acreage for each barn.
• Confirm owner’s name, address, and other contact information.
• Check with the Town Clerk to see if s/he knows if the barn has a name that it is commonly called.

NEXT Step >> contact owner