Members of the Wellington County Historical Society held their 89th annual general meeting at the Wellington County Museum and Archives on June 5.
After the business portion of the meeting, guest speaker Elske deGroot’s slide show presentation titled Barns: A Disappearing Landscape gave members and guests a look at barns through an artist’s eyes.
“I’m not an expert on barns but I am a country girl originally from northern Wellington County. As a child I loved looking at the landscape, especially barns,” deGroot said.
“As a photographer by trade, the artistry into the building of barns, the mathematical specifications and the technicality of the building has always intrigued me. I understand that barns were once constructed on the ground and then raised into position.”
DeGroot described barns as majestic giants and cathedral like. She enjoys seeing the light coming through the spaces between barn boards on a barn wall. When photographing, deGroot adds a different perspective to her photographs, including the use of soft focus and the addition or deletion of existing foregrounds and backgrounds from different angles.
“The messier and the more things in and surrounding a barn, the more I want to photograph it,” deGroot explained. “As barns are slowly disappearing from the rural landscape, I have undertaken the project of photographing the remaining barns before they all disappear.”
In her work teaching photographic techniques at Humber College, deGroot has found a number of city dwellers who have never seen the countryside. By using barn images in class, she hopes to intrigue students to travel to rural Ontario to see what the landscape has to offer.
Part of deGroot’s presentation focused on barns in close proximity to the Wellington County Museum and Archives.
The Allan Farm located on Wellington Road 18 contains a stone barn and has been in the Allan family for six generations.
The Graham family barn on Colborne Street still houses all the original stabling in the lower portion of the barn.
Nearby in the village of Elora, deGroot has photographed some of the five remaining horse barns built in the late 1800s. These structures have been renovated and are in use today, some as garages and others for storage.
Other images featured in deGroot’s slide presentation were barns located on the outskirts of towns and villages showing a rural-urban mix. Another photograph included a mixture of old and new with a bank barn in the forefront and wind turbines in the background.
DeGroot photographed bank barns with gable or gambrel style roofs across Wellington County in various states of decay.
“I do not have a lot of information on the barns I have photographed but I do know the L-shaped barn located on County Road 7 outside of Alma dates back to 150 years ago,” deGroot said.
“Descendants of the original crown land owners now own the farm. The family graciously allowed me to photograph the inside of the bank barn which is in great condition with most of its original features.”
DeGroot’s presentation ended with a discussion period in which members of the society shared their memories of barns.
