Burgin Meadows Barn

Address:

12815 NC Hwy 209
Hot Springs NC 28743

Year Built: early 1920s

Historic Owners: Burgin C. & Mollie Hipps Meadows

Description:

The Meadows barn unfortunately collapsed as the result of two major windstorms in subsequent winters (2020 & 2021).  The following is historical information from owner Ethel Kirkpatrick,

“The barn has steps on the inside and a ladder on the outside going up to the loft where there is a raised center and two lower side loft areas.  The hay hook and lift are not present anymore to unload wagons of hay.  The tier poles are still there where acres of tobacco have been hung, and those poles were not always the correct width for the person standing on them.

The right side of the main floor of the barn had two rooms with doors, one on either end, for storage, both off the ground 3 plus feet so the creek wouldn’t flood them.   There is one long stable on the right side and on the left are 6 rooms, for one or two animals at a time.  Each area has feed troughs. Sometimes the chickens liked to lay their eggs in them.

The stables were used for work animals and for riding horses belonging to the boarders who stayed with Mrs. Meadows.  She kept traveling salesmen, schoolteachers, and even ran a hostel during the 1930’s.

There was also one feed trough outside in the center aisle for her milk cow, since she (Mrs. Meadows or the cow) didn’t like to be closed in. This made it lighter and much easier to see the mouths of the kittens one was directing milk into.

In a photo by Tim Barnwell you can see on the left side, a corncrib, used for storing corn to feed the horses, cows and pigs.  When the corncrib was torn off the barn a concrete slab was uncovered. The entire barn is sitting on a concrete foundation.  Since we are pretty sure there were no concrete trucks bringing loads to the work site, this must have been a real job to mix that much concrete by hand, carrying the water from the creek, not to mention hauling it in from wherever it was purchased.”

Historic Use: general purpose livestock, altered for burley tobacco

Type of Construction: Post and Beam and Sawn lumber

Siding Materials: Milled Boards and Lattice

Roof Shape: Gambrel

Roofing Materials: 3-V metal

Roof Framing: Milled rafters

Foundation: Concrete

Species of Wood: Chestnut and Various Other

Hinges: Commercial Metal

Fasteners:

Additional Features:

includes a hay hook rail and pulley which runs the length of the loft.

Outbuildings: Several outbuildings remain, including a relocated outhouse. This barn is part of a farmstead that included a large boarding house for drummers (peddlers or traveling salesmen) and other tenants. It was also part of a network of youth hostels created by A

NOTE: The information above is an abridged list. For the full unabridged list (complete details), please download the PDF of the Data Form above.