Designating 2015 as the "Year of the Pennsylvania Barn."

WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has recognized the economic contributions and importance to our agricultural heritage of historic barns through legislation and has called for creating inventories of these structures within this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Professor Emeritus Robert F. Ensminger of Kutztown University and others, through years of study and research, have determined that the Pennsylvania barn is a distinct architectural form with many influences, but whose ultimate realization and ideal expression were primarily achieved within this Commonwealth beginning more than 250 years ago; and

WHEREAS, 2015 is the 10th year since the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission awarded a grant to the Historic  Preservation Society of Gettysburg-Adams County to initiate a survey and study of the historic barns within Adams County and to establish a Historic Barn Registry for the county; and

WHEREAS, Barns are the heart and soul of our Pennsylvania farms and the communities of which they are a part and define the agricultural character of rural landscapes across this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Barns are visual reminders that hard work, productivity and ingenuity are integral to our identity as Pennsylvanians no matter what our occupations and whether we hail from cities, towns, rural areas or farms; and

WHEREAS, Farms and their signature barns were instrumental in forming the foundation for Pennsylvania's historical settlement patterns, resulting in the establishment of the rich community character we cherish to this day; and

WHEREAS, The preservation of historic barns is an increasingly important cause among national, State and local historic preservation groups and societies; and

WHERESAS, Maintaining, rehabilitating, preserving and using these cultural and architectural treasures in the fields of Pennsylvania, as well as preserving those same fields, contribute to a vibrant agricultural industry in this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania leads all 50 states in the total acreage of agricultural preservation easements, and the barns standing within these easements have a central function in providing shelter for animals and storage for crops and equipment; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate 2015 as the "Year of the Pennsylvania Barn" and encourage efforts to honor and preserve this uniquely Pennsylvanian architectural form.