Editing Barn (section)

==Uses==
[[File:DETAIL OF ROOF TRUSS STRUCTURE AND HAY HOOK CABLE AND PULLEY SYSTEM LOCATED ON WEST END OF BARN. CAMERA POINTED EAST. - James H. Lane Ranch, Barn, One Mile South of Richfield on HABS ID,32-RICHF,1A-14.tif|thumb|The ''hay track'' developed in the early 19th century, here showing how the ''[[hay hood]]'' (roof extension) covers the track. The gable wall of this barn is missing.]]
In older style North American barns, the upper area was used to store [[hay]] and sometimes grain. This is called the mow (rhymes with cow) or the [[hayloft]]. A large door at the top of the ends of the barn could be opened up so that hay could be put in the loft. The hay was hoisted into the barn by a system containing [[pulley]]s and a trolley that ran along a track attached to the top ridge of the barn. [[Trap door]]s in the floor allowed animal feed to be dropped into the [[manger]]s for the animals.

In [[New England]] it is common to find barns attached to the main farmhouse ([[Connected farm|connected farm architecture]]), allowing for chores to be done while sheltering the worker from the weather.

In the middle of the twentieth century the large broad roof of barns were sometimes painted with slogans in the United States. Most common of these were the 900 barns painted with ads for [[Rock City (roadside attraction)|Rock City]].

In the past barns were often used for communal gatherings, such as [[barn dance]]s.