Dutch Barn Preservation Society

The New World Dutch Barn, as it has come to be known, is one of the last physical reminders of the pre-industrial agricultural heritage of eastern New York and New Jersey. The efficient, heavy timber structural system adapted from Northern European precedents, reflects the practical construction and engineering skills of the predominately Dutch immigrants who settled the area, and their descendants. These barns are now rapidly disappearing from our rural landscapes and are in urgent need of increased study and preservation efforts.

The Dutch Barn Preservation Society was organized in 1985 and incorporated in 1986 by the Regents of the State of New York as a not-for-profit organization by barn owners, historians and other concerned individuals alarmed by the barns' rapid disappearance. Membership has grown steadily since the Society's inception, making new preservation initiatives possible.