Early Morning at Bean Station, Tennessee

Faded Rock City barn on U.S. 11W near Bean Station, Tennessee. Nov. 2, 1994

 

It's been a while since I've shown one of my Rock City barns, and this is one I've always especially liked.

When Bill Chapin, the president of See Rock City, Inc. asked me to create a book about Rock City barns, he sent me a box containing hundreds of old file cards from the 1960s. They were Rock City's only record of most barn locations.  On each card was the name of the property owner at that time, the highway, and the distance from the nearest town.  Many had a small photo attached, apparently taken about 1960; but some had only rough sketches of the barns.  Inside the card was a record of rents paid (usually $3 to $5 per year) and repaint dates.  Rock City had had no contact with most of these barns since the late 60s.  The only way to find out if they were still standing was to go and see. So I went.

          Sorting the cards into piles by states (15), and within states by highways, I planned an itinerary and began photographing at Sweetwater, Tennessee on October 24, 1994.  Over the next 18 months, stealing time from my studio whenever I could, the trail of barns led my old Chevy Blazer nearly 35,000 miles to more than 500 sites.

The photo above was made early on the morning of November 2nd, 1994 on my second trip. The location was U.S. Highway 11W near Bean Station in northeast Tennessee. The camera was one of the early Canon EOS models, and film, as usual, was Fujichrome 100 slide film.

Photograph and text copyright 2022, David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo

For the glory of God alone

My most recent book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia, is a 304-page soft-cover with more than 200 color photographs. Published by Countryman Press, it is priced at $22.95. Signed and inscribed copies are available directly from me at (423) 240-2324 or djphoto@vol.com.