5.04.2009

thanks Michelle : )

The barn above is in Clackamas County, Oregon.

This one located in Lewis County, Washington.
And here's the famous Cache Valley version.

This is my darling niece Michelle and her husband Matt. They recently moved to "the farm with THE BARN." Yes, they live next to the most famous and most photographed barn in Cache Valley and maybe all of Utah - the barn with the preserved logo of Dr. Pierce's Womans Tonic. Matt takes care of the property - something he's well suited to because he LOVES to be outside and he loves to work. I grabbed the photos from Michelle's blog (Michelle's a good photographer - she has a great camera and has learned how to use it.) Here's a quote from her blog: "You would think my husband had died and gone to heaven. He LOVES it here. He spends so much time outside sometimes I begin to wonder if he's gotten lost."

Following is some historical information about the barn which is located in College Ward, Utah:

This Intermountain style barn was built in 1904 by Lovenus and Mary Olsen, Swiss Mormon farmers. Work horses were sheltered in the west lean-to. The east leanto was added in the 1940s when Ike Olsen began dairying. There is no loft—hay was stacked on the ground in the center part of the barn.

The “Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription” sign was painted sometime during the Great Depression. The landowner was paid $25 at the time of the first painting and $10 per year thereafter for use of the side of the barn as a billboard. Now, because it has become a beloved landmark, the sign has been periodically repainted.

In 1998, a group of neighbors in the area, with the owners and several local
businesses who donated materials, straightened the barn and reinforced it. The farmers of College Ward feel that this barn belongs to the community, and they did not want to see it fall down. Further stabilization work was done in 2002 by the Utah Conservation Corps and the Bear River Association of Governments with extra improvements added by the owners.

Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription was a patent medicine of the time. According to labeling on old packages, the concoction contained no alcohol or opium, but did contain “Lady’s Slipper root (cimicifuga Racemosa), Unicorn root (Helonias Dioica), Blue Cohosh root (Caulophylloum Thalictroides), Oregon Grape root (Berberis Aquifolium), Viburnum.”

ADDED NOTE: My sister Merilee told me about a website that shows barns from all over the USA called OhioBarns.com. Sure enough our Dr. Pierce's barn is registered, as are about eight other Dr. Pierce advertisement barns. (See photos above.) They're mostly in California, Oregon and Washington.