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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Northern California Barns: Routes 1 and 128





The coastal California Route 1 and State Route 128 wind through some of the loveliest seaside and rural country in America. The field grasses of late summer have turned light yellow, and wave in the light breezes, providing a contrast to the dark wood or red paint and corrugated zinc roofs on farm and ranch buildings. The barns in Sonoma and Mendocino are for the most part connected to dairy farms, while those in the picturesque Anderson Valley are split equally between dairy and vineyard/orchard uses. Most barns were built in the early part of the twentieth century, and some have fallen into disrepair as land use changes. They still provide a sense of agricultural and vernacular architectural history, however, and are an integral part of what makes the area so beautiful and so intriguing.