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1. "That barn window"
Posted by harry on May-27th-02 at 9:41 PM

Celebrating my 300th post.

Attached are two magnified pictures of the barn door and side. In both the window does appear to be curtained. In the side view two doors are shown, one the entrance to the barn, and I assume the other to the privy.

What is puzzling is the open window at the top of the side view. You would assume this leads to the hay loft and used when the hay was pulled up. On the floor plan of the barn that I have the loft is on the other side of the barn!!  Is the barn plan incorrect? Did the floor of the loft extend all the way across and this plan is just a cutaway?

(Message last edited May-27th-02  9:47 PM.)

Congratulations, Harry!!!!
300 posts!  I'll bet you had a ThOUSAND on the old LBMB!

In Rebello, pg. 45, of which I was reminded not long ago, the plan shows the barn as only being 15' wide..
Pg. 43 shows the dismantling.
The plan you show probably places the upper and lower floors as next to each other as a way to draw the view, whereas they are actually on top of each other.
This is extremely hard to describe in words!

I understand what you mean Kat. That's why I mentioned that it's possible half the floor is "cutaway" or cut out so that you can see what is beneath. Else the window makes no sense where it is.  I believe that is the window that was opened when they were inspecting the barn and it got very hot while they were shoveling the hay.

Alfred Clarkson, Prelim., pg. 468-9:

Q: What did you observe up there, in the upper part of the barn, if anything?
A: I noticed that the door on the south, where they put the hay in stood open about seven or eight inches, and there was considerable hay there that extended from the south west corner to the north
Q: Extended across the barn?
A: Yes Sir, mostly on the north west corner
Q: Most of the hay was on the north side of the barn?
A: Yes Sir
Q: Did you notice anything about the hay, except that;  whether it appeared to have been disturbed at all, or not?
A: In two or three places it looked as though it had been stepped in.  In one place west of the window, it looked as though a man had laid there
Q: In what direction from the window?
A: North of the west window
Q: Did you disturb anything there?
A: No Sir

--Didn't Lizzie say she stood in front of the west window overlooking the house to eat her pears?  Was she then standing IN HAY?

That barn floor plan I posted is way off. I checked Rebello (thanks Kat, keep on forgetting to check the Wiz) and there is a great drawing on page 48 showing the proper interior.

In that drawing the steps begin almost immediately if you enter by the Privy door. I don't know if the privy was enclosed. Probably not.

I looked at the picture on page 43 of them dismantling the barn. The steps are clearly visible. I can see the window frame but I can't see where the door was.  It looks like it should be right where the stairs are.  Now that is confusing.

That picture also shows the floor extending across.

Well, I didn't even see that cross-section of the barn on page 48!
That's cool.  William reminds me to look in that book.
Listen.  I think that *dismantaling* photo of the barn shows the DOOR, and the man's head is in the window?
That gaping hole that's framed out is where the scheme on pg.48 shows a door...

I think you are right Kat. If you assume the frame is the door then the man would be about where the window would be. It's just that the bottom of the door frame appears a little high off the ground.

In the picture I posted of the barn door the door extends right to the bottom of the barn with just a very slight step stone in front.

Yea, the height of the opening was very confusing. I had to go look at a different perspective to see just how far from the DOOR the window really was.

Congratulations on your 300th post, Harry!