This Cedarville barn on Swede Road, estimated to be about 100 years old, is one of more than 700 barns in Mackinac and Chippewa counties. The Michigan Barn Preservation Network is seeking nominations for the state's favorite barns. The Michigan Barn Preservation Network is seeking nominations for Michigan’s 2006 Barn of the Year. Any barn in Michigan can be nominated, and the Eastern Upper Peninsula is home to approximately 800 functioning or abandoned barns. More than 700 of those barns are in Chippewa and East Mackinac counties, and several of those are still on working farms. In 1925, an agricultural census listed 1,730 barns in the area.

The Barn Preservation Network hopes that raising awareness of the historic significance of barns will prompt people to preserve them. The non-profit, state organization gives an annual award for the best adaptive commercial use of a barn, and another for continuing agricultural or adaptive family use. Barns may either be in their original settings or moved to new locations.

They may be used for one of the stated purposes, but must retain their appearance and overall character, inside and out, as a barn. Family use barns must be owned by a family or as part of a familyowned operation.

“As agriculture and land use have changed, barns are increasingly being adapted,” says Vera Wiltse, Michigan Barn Preservation Network board member. “Heritage barns, those that once housed animals, are being altered for equipment storage. Where farm production has ceased, barns are being transformed into uniquely beautiful homes, restaurants, shops, art centers, and salons.”

The Barn Preservation Network is increasingly getting calls, letters, and e-mails from people who own barns or have long admired certain barns and want to know what they can do to preserve them, said President Keith Bruder. He added that people in urban areas sometimes seek rural properties not for the house, but for the space and the character of the barn.

“A well cared for barn is a sound investment,” Mr. Bruder said. “In subdivisions where farms once stood, homeowners are looking at ways to incorporate farm buildings into new landscape.”

Nominations for the 2006 Barn of the Year award are due Wednesday, January 11. The awards will be presented at the Michigan Barn Preservation Network’s 11th Annual Conference, March 10 and March 11, during Agriculture and Natural Resources Week at Michigan State University.

Anyone can nominate a barn, or multiple barns. The Chippewa/ East Mackinac Conservation District nominates a barn for the award every year, and gives a plaque to the nominee at its annual meeting and banquet in January. This year the District is nominating the John McDonald barn of Pickford.

To obtain a nomination form, contact Keith Bruder by calling (734) 461-2498, or visit the Michigan Barn Preservation Web site at www.mibarn.net.

The Michigan Barn Preservation Network’s mission is to promote appreciation, preservation, and rehabilitation of Michigan barns, farmsteads, and rural communities. More information about the organization can be found at its Web site.