The Hogan Barn Raising
11691 Hogan Road, Clinton MI
Built by James Hogan, 1905
Party at the Hogan’s! Popular in the early days of Michigan farm culture, this picture depicts some 50 men and 7 boys participating in the great rural tradition of a barn raising. This practice lives on today in some Amish and Mennonite communities.
The assembly of a barn required a lot of manpower and provided an excellent opportunity for neighbors to help neighbors, enjoy each other’s company and catch up on the news of the day. Entire families would participate; the men would raise the barn, women would bring food and drink, older boys would fetch supplies, and the rest of the children would watch, learn, and play.
Typically, a timber framing expert would lead the work and the rest of the men would perform tasks commensurate with their skill level and experience.
These parties, typically held in the summer (in between planting and harvesting), were the one or two day culmination of the months long process of building a barn. Prior to the party, the site of the barn would be cleared; materials procured and prepared, and staged; and the structure pre-assembled on the ground.
Today, all that remains of this barn is a field stone foundation, a monument to the past.