Barn raising

A barn raising, DeKalb County, Indiana, USA, about 1900

A barn raising, also historically called a raising bee or rearing in the U.K., is a collective action of a community, in which a barn for one of the members is built or rebuilt by members of the community. Barn raising was common in 18th- and 19th-century rural North America. A barn was a necessary building for any farmer. Yet a barn was also a big and expensive building. Building a farm needed many people than a typical family could provide. Barn raising addressed the need by getting members of the community, unpaid, to help in the building of their neighbors' barns. Because each member was entitled to recruit others for help, the favor would eventually return to each participant.

One or more people with experience or with specific skills are chosen to lead the project. Young people helping for the first time have watched many barn raisings and know what is expected of them.

Barn Raising Media

• 

  A barn raising north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the 20th century

• 

  Raising a barn in Eastern Ontario in the early 20th century