Escaped cattle brought by the Spaniards into countries south of the U.S. border and escaped cattle brought into America by European settlers met in the area we now know as Texas. They created a unique breed of cattle, and their presence created a unique breed of men who made a living gathering these cows and driving them to market. The cowboy. It lasted for about a century in it’s initial form, and the vestiges of this culture live on today in the people known as Texans.
Gradually, over many years, settlers came to stay. They built ranches and farms, dug wells, built barns and houses, usually in that order, and the often difficult and dangerous place known as Texas was settled, as much as you can settle such a place. In truth, the land settled the people as much as the people settled the land.
Texas barns of the past
The settling of the land required a place to protect the settler’s, supplies, and domestic animals from often hostile outside forces. In such cases, barns were often the first structures to be built. “Build your barn, and let your barn build your house”, was a common proverb among settlers throughout the new world.
The early barns built in Texas were similar to the barns built everywhere else. They were assembled of the materials at hand which varied from sod to logs, and from stone to mud. Over time many developed characteristics unique to the new environment.
Texas developed into more than just a farm and ranch powerhouse, fuel oil and natural gas production drove the economy forward, lakes were built as reservoirs on an unprecedented scale to meet the water needs of our growing population, and fueling an enormous tourist fishing trade, and technology now produces jobs and growth in the same places where the longhorns once roamed.
Today’s Texas barns
Barns in Texas today still provide some of the same services as their predecessors. Farming and ranching in Texas still thrives, and new agricultural buildings are being built every day. Many of the older barns that once provided service as homes and for agriculture, have been preserved in their natural state. Many more have become homes. Today, barns are rarely the multifunctional buildings of the past, they are far more likely to be built as separate units for each function. Large buildings for storing hay or other agriculture produce, mid sized buildings for equipment, run in sheds for animals, and a variety of small barns serve other purposes around the home, the farm, and the ranch.
Most modern barns are made of steel, or at the very least, covered with steel. For information on metal barns and how to find the right one for you by getting a free steel barn quote click here.