Picture of the day - September 26, 2007

"Rock Barn"

A while back our good friends Teddy and Phyllis Helton told Cheria and me about a very interesting old barn in rural Washington County, Virginia that had been built many years ago using a massive rock as one of the sides. Yesterday afternoon we finally got around to paying the "Rock Barn" a visit - and the result is the "Picture of the Day". After getting detailed directions from Teddy, we left Bristol and followed a route that would end up taking us through some of the most beautiful countryside we have ever seen. Autumn is in the air here in southwestern Virginia, and although the leaves are just beginning to "turn" the scenery around Clinch Mountain and along the north fork of the Holston River is simply spectacular! Even had we failed to find the famous barn, we would have considered the drive alone to be worth the trip. But find it we did, right where Teddy said it would be: on "Barn Rock Road"! The end of the massive rock and the barn attached to it both lie just inches from the edge of the road, so there was no way we could have missed it. And I must say, it really is quite an interesting structure. We studied the huge rock and the weathered old barn for quite some time, all the while taking pictures and marveling at the way the builders had so adeptly integrated the two. I'd love to find out just why they decided to use the rock as a wall of the barn. Was it because wood was expensive back in those days, and using the rock meant they wouldn't have to use as much wood? Was the Rock Barn built simply as a novelty? Maybe someone out there knows the whole story and would be willing to share it? Anyway, a big thanks to Teddy and Phyllis for letting us know about the amazing "Rock Barn" - and for giving us such great directions with which to find it!   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"