The Barn at the Intersection

Tobacco barn in autumn, 2008

This old barn sits at the intersection of Butler Road and Vaughn Grove Road in Christian County, Kentucky. It's an intersection, not a crossroads, because Vaughn Grove Road ends, and the driveway to the barn is on the opposite side of the road.

Every time, I pull up to the stop sign on Vaughn Grove Road, this barn is right in front of me, looking photogenic. I have a lot of pictures of it. I took the photo above in 2008, and nine years later (photo below,) it still looks much the same.

Weathered wooden barns like this are a common sight here. Many of them are used in late summer and autumn, either for air-curing burley tobacco or for firing dark tobacco. The firing process involves a smouldering fire on the barn's floor that flavors and colors the tobacco as it cures. I've never seen this barn being fired, but it is often used for air-curing tobacco in the fall.