“A picture is worth a thousand words” is a saying that was coined by an advertising executive (Fred R. Barnard) in 1921 to promote his agency’s ads. The meaning has endured—that a photo or graphic illustration conveys a stronger message than words. The researcher for the Appalachian Barn Alliance took this quite seriously. For, he generally takes from 80 to 100 photos of all aspects of the barn’s architecture in documenting the historic barns. If the chinking at the corners or the latch on a door is something that fascinates you, there are scores of historic barns documented in the ABA Database. Our newsletters are filled with photos and stories of our history. Other photos of either the barns or of events and projects can be found by following the ABA on Instagram or Facebook.
During the 2020 COVID pandemic, we were faced with challenges of how to connect with our members and followers and creativity led us to expand from still photos to videos. There are so many more possibilities that videos can open. A still photo can be transformed to convey depth and relationship making the viewer feel a part of the location. Additionally, Zoom meetings allowed the video recording of our researcher’s community presentation on various topics. Videos can also provide a way to present information at the viewer’s convenience for time and place. With the quality of videos that can be produced on a cell phone, new opportunities have been added for the ABA.

Listed below are links to videos which provide information or provide views of barns and farms that cannot be reached for public access.