Cantilever Barn, Cades Cove

This image of the Cantilever Barn at the Tipton Homeplace in Cades Cove beautifully captures the unique design of this style of barn which is found principally in two East Tennessee counties - Sevier and Blount.

According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, a cantilever barn typically has "two log cribs...separated by a fourteen- to sixteen-foot driveway".  The most frequent question I get regarding the Cantilever barn is why was it built this way. Researchers have "hypothesized that the barns' form was an invention, pulling together ideas from several sources [including the German forebay barns] into an original design that enjoyed local popularity for thirty to fifty years".  The loft was used for storing hay which could be loaded from wagons pulled between the two cribs. Livestock could shelter under the overhangs, and the overhangs provided a sheltered space for working and storage. An additional benefit of the design is good air circulation which is very beneficial in such a rainy, humid climate.

I hope that you enjoy my Cantilever Barn image as much as I enjoyed photographing it. The image is truly beautiful when printed on Metal with a high gloss finish. 

Reference: Marian Moffett. "Cantilever Barns". Tennessee Encyclopedia, Tennessee Historical Society, 8 October 2017, https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/cantilever-barns/. Accessed 24 May 2023.

The goal of my photography is to capture a moment in time, and to share with the viewer the beauty that I observed. My images are single images. I use a program called Lightroom to process my RAW image to prepare them for printing. The image is then printed in the USA on metal or archival quality professional photo paper which is mounted and coated for durability. All images are copyright protected and reproduction in any format is strictly prohibited.