Pre-Barn

Practically from its inception, the University of the South owned and
operated its own farm. This "farm" consisted of mainly pasture land with
two or three log houses at one end used for storage and shelter for the
few dozen cattle and hogs owned by the university.  The university
merely used this farm as a supplement to the local supply of food
available from both Cowan and Winchester. Local farmers brought
chickens, eggs, and milk to Magnolia Hall -- the dining hall -- on a
weekly basis, serving as the major supply of food for the university. By
bankrupting many local farmers, the Great Depression of 1929 forced
the University of the South to rely heavily upon itself as a means of
subsistence. Unfortunately, the university was not well equipped for this
massive undertaking at that time. In order to become self-sufficient, the
university needed a place to store hay and feed for the cattle, vegetables
(including corn and potatoes) grown on the farm, and dairy and canning
operations.

Making the university a self-sufficient entity originally surfaced as an idea
in the early 1920's. Then Vice Chancellor Finney approved a motion to
erect a larger barn on the university for the sole purpose of increasing the
practical usage of the barn. According to plans, the new barn would
allow for a major increase in the number of cattle to approximately 100
head plus an increase in the hogs. Plans also called for the addition of a
dairy and cannery to augment the newly enlarged farm and to make the
university completely self-sufficient.

In the mid-1920's following approval by the Board of Trustees, the
university hired Martin Johnson from Virginia as the Business Manager of
the farm and overseer of construction for the future barn. Johnson’s
responsibilities included overseeing the original construction of the barn
and maintaining the upkeep and general business of the entire farm.
Johnson also ran an independent construction firm in Winchester during
this time.

Construction

Actual construction of the barn began in 1936.
For cost-efficiency, the foundation of the barn
was made entirely of tiles from Chattanooga
which were originally manufactured to hold underground cables.
The oak and poplar timbers used for construction were cut from
university-owned land and sawed at university sawmills which were in
operation until the 1950's. Some of the larger timbers used were actually
hand-hewn with an ax to the specified dimensions. No actual blueprints of
the barn exist because none were made. The building itself was designed
during the actual construction probably by Martin Johnson.

Either in late 1936 or early 1937, a fire destroyed the nearly-completed
barn. Using the same foundation, Johnson's crew reconstructed the building,
finishing it in 1938.

Archives

Basement floorplan and wall

Farm operations costs sheet

List of cows

List of improvements

Trustee report

Physical Characteristics

The final product revealed a two story building equipped with an added
hay attic. The basement was intended for animal shelter and feeding
while the upper level and hay attic served as storage for both food and
hay. The university also erected a silo just outside the new barn for extra
storage of cattle feed.

Upon completion, the inside of the barn stood thirty-two feet wide, thirty
feet high, and one hundred three feet four inches in length. It included a
ventilator (probably added later), a hay hook for moving hay throughout
the barn, and five side doors including two upper level hay doors for
easy access.

Barn Labor

Based on an estimated count by university students, the barn contains
somewhere between 23,000 and 24,000 nails. Driving the nails at an
average of thirty seconds per nail, just the nail driving took five forty-hour
weeks. With about five nails per board, the barn contains approximately
4800 boards which were between four inches and ten inches in width.
Each board had to be cut twice with each cut taking approximately two
minutes each (including measuring and marking). This adds another eight
forty-hour weeks to the process. In addition, each board had to be
transported to the barn which would take another four forty-hour weeks by
itself (each board took thirty seconds each to load and unload).

The foundation had to be dug and the support posts framed and poured in
concrete which probably took two laborers another month, another eight
forty-hour weeks. The structural timbers had to be cut, hewn, moved,
positioned and fitted. This probably took two men another month to
accomplish, another eight forty-hour weeks. The ventilator then had to be
built and the hay hook track installed adding another three forty-hour
weeks. The framing of the five side doors and the building of the silo added
another approximately forty forty-hour weeks. Using just these rough
calculations, the construction of the barn took approximately seventy-six
work weeks of labor.  These calculations do not include bracing, fitting,
climbing, positioning, and hoisting of all materials which would bring the total
time to approximately 100 man weeks. With a crew of four men working,
the barn would take about six months to build without any interruptions for
weather or materials.