Despite the fact that Johnny Ott was often depicted in the popular media as being connected with the painting of barns, he never actually painted a barn in his life. Figure 10: A twelve-pointed star recently restored by artist Eric Claypoole, with interlacing border and circular motifs between each star point, composed of two of the raindrop shapes common in the Lehigh Valley. Glencairn Museum staff photo. Discover Buckskin Horses for sale on America's biggest equine marketplace. 2003. “The History of Hex Signs.” The Pennsylvania German Review, Fall 2003. Their distinctive agriculture, religious expression, arts and architecture, industry, and trades, have shaped and been shaped by the broader American experience as these immigrants and their descendants migrated throughout the United States and into Southern Appalachia and the Shenandoah Valley, the Midwest and the Ozarks, the West Coast, and Ontario, Canada. The Lord can build and he can destroy; he can give and he can take to each as it pleases him. Walz’s title page depicts the celestial sphere, complete with the moon, stars, and the milky-way, surrounded by the signs of the zodiac, and the sun shining forth as a beacon from a stylized church steeple. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with coupons or any other discounts. While the value of a survey is to create a snapshot in time, this survey has become a living record, including both the occasional loss of a historic barn, as well as the documentation of a living tradition that continues to shape the landscape in new and exciting ways. One is titled “Jacob Zook Original Hex Signs: Designs Currently Available” (no date) and another as recent as 1990 is titled “Handcrafted in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country by Jacob Zook, Hexologist,” along with the motto: “If it doesn’t say Zook it’s not original.”. Vibrant murals of stars, sunbursts, and moons painted in vivid colors punctuate the exteriors of the generously-proportioned barns of the Pennsylvania Dutch country in a manner that is unique among American artistic traditions. The Pennsylvania Barn: Its Origin, Evolution, and Distribution in North America. The stone of Rosina McGartney was carved by a prolific anonymous stonecarver of Northern Lancaster, County, who created scores of gravestones throughout the Cocalico and Brubaker Valleys. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2018. “Berks County Barns Inspired Hex Sign Myth.” Berks Country, a publication of the Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University. This information was once used to orchestrate the activities of daily life into a meaningful and coherent whole, and the almanac is still used by some farmers and gardeners today.60. For the first time, these unique communities were subject to the curiosity of visitors eager for explanations of the distinctive cultural landscape of the region. So in 1962 he placed an advertisement in the classified section of the local newspaper, advertising that he sought a willing apprentice to learn the trade and eventually take over the business. Glencairn Museum staff photo. The paintings are extremely advanced even for a child as precocious as Milton must have been, and the complexity of the stars is matched only by the accuracy of their rendering. We can even custom mix any color for you. Later Federal style churches of the early nineteenth century continued the tradition of integrating star patterns into sacred architecture. Courtesy of Patrick J. Donmoyer. Preterite-present verbs are also present, but can be … As public expressions of art and tradition in action, the barn stars of the Pennsylvania Dutch have captured the interest and imaginations of generations of Americans, and offer a unique opportunity to visually engage with the history and folk culture of the region. The hymn is “Triumph over Death in Hope of Resurrection,” from Isaac Watts’ 1707 Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Albany Township, Berks County. 75 Pigments are listed in Milton J. Hill’s ledger at the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University, and in accounts of Perry Ludwig in Kauffman 1964. Only roughly four percent were members of sectarian groups, consisting of Anabaptist and Pietist Communities, including the plain communities of the Amish, the Mennonites, as well as the German Baptist Brethren and the Moravians. For these early American congregations, many of whom sought to distance themselves from the cathedrals of the Roman Catholic establishment in Old Europe, the cross was thought to represent one’s internal faith journey, but was intentionally avoided as an emblem of the faith.29 Instead, a number of early Pennsylvania churches featured six-pointed rosette stars on the structures in strikingly prominent locations. Although the work of Johnny Claypoole closely resembled his teacher Johnny Ott’s work in many respects, Claypoole took his painting to another level. According to Milton’s family and those who remember the earliest days of the Kutztown Folk Festival, Milton was asked to attend the Festival on its inaugural year in the summer of 1950, but he was unable to do so due to the demand for his work as a painter and his busy schedule. 99 These meanings are widely available in the form of advertising sheets, which show little hex signs the size of postage stamps, each with a succinct meaning. For instance, some have considered four-pointed figures to be expressions of the four seasons, or the cardinal points of the compass, while others have attributed the four-pointed star to the Christian concept of the cross. As a living tradition, barn stars are not merely ancestral relics of the past, but opportunities for cultural expression among future generations who will continue to explore their roots and spiritual identities, their relationship with the land, and the legacy of artistic expression in the rural landscape. Although I had expected to document an artistic tradition in decline—and that was precisely what I found in some areas—I was surprised and delighted to find that the sheer number of decorated barns in Berks alone had outstripped previous estimates for the whole region.4 I documented over 400 decorated barns in 2008 with the majority in Northern Berks, and have added scores from neighboring counties ever since, tallying over 500 for the total region. 1995. Weiss had no formal training, but was a master carver and painter, producing religious scenes of biblical stories for the walls of his hotel. These two types of motifs form the basic visual vocabulary of Pennsylvania’s barn decorations. May they be found with God.55. While no dates or names can be found on this particular dwelling, which dates to the 1780s, a central circle in the middle of the star is large enough to have featured a date. According to the Book of Genesis, it was on the fourth day of creation that the creator said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them serve as signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the Earth.”63 This message is continued in the Book of Ecclesiastes, which explains, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. and plague.”100 These were among a wide range of patterns that were strictly modern, and were not historically painted directly on barns. Barn stars were not expressions of “superstition” as the tourist literature suggested, but abstract images of the heavens, refined by generations of artistic interest in geometry and agricultural interest in the stars. Barn star artists, like Johnny Claypoole (1921-2004) and his son Eric use this weathering process as a guide for restoration of the old stars. Figure 22: The elaborately carved dedication stone featuring a central rosette and an inscription of the 1787 Joseph Henderson Meeting House, serving the Great Conewago Presbyterian congregation in Adams County. If you do not, interest will be charged on the promo purchase from the purchase date. Likewise, the number twelve is not only the number of the establishment of earthly spiritual authority and organization through the Apostles, it is also the number of the signs of the zodiac, the twelve-fold division of the solar year. This symbolism extends beyond the artistry of churchyard gravestones and equally embraces the highly embellished, formal documents celebrating birth and baptism at the very beginning of life. While some historic barn star painters resisted the idea that the star patterns had any inherent literal meaning, others embraced a very basic form of visual symbolism that parallels many aspects of the folk culture in Pennsylvania, as well as in Europe, where similar designs appear in folk art and architecture. Artists and craftspeople carved, embroidered, wove, painted, and inscribed the same celestial patterns on decorated chests, butter-molds, coverlets, spoon-racks, spice-boxes, cheese-presses, tape-looms, rifles, powder horns, musical instruments, trivets, and wood-working tools. Leaves but the number less. In each of these instances, the star motifs are not merely placeholders, but evidence of folk art and belief in process. It is perhaps with this in mind that Eric offers a most compelling explanation of the rotational qualities of his stars. Pennsylvania-German Society, XXXI. An elaborate barn blessing near Sinking Spring, Berks County, that echoes these sacred sentiments was created in 1802 by the stone-mason Heinrich Iertz (Hertz). Figure 16: Stars in the Architectural Traditions of the Palatinate in Rhineland-Pfalz and Rhine-Hesse, Germany. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; Louden, Mark L. 2016. He had painted them in watercolor sometime around 1899, when he completed his final year of school after only six grades. No interest will be charged and equal monthly payments are required on promo purchase until it is paid in full. However, one need only look to the churchyards and cemeteries to see that such imagery extended beyond the realm of the trades and featured prominently in the symbolism of early gravestones, which were equally an expression of sacred, consecrated space. Painting your kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom can give your home an instant makeover within a few hours. Lancaster, PA: Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center, Franklin and Marshall College, and again in Shoemaker. It was once commonly believed that the barn stars first appeared on the landscape with the advent of commercially available ready-mixed paints and the widespread establishment of painting crews in the late nineteenth century.19 We know today that the earliest stars were painted generations prior, when paints were mixed by the artists from old recipes combining oils, pigments, and raw materials that were both locally available and imported for sale. Instead, they are produced unintentionally by a process called differential solar weathering. E. L. Walz, Lutheran minister of Hamburg, Berks County, printed in Reading by Johann Ritter in 1830. District Township, Berks County. These two inscriptions characterize two primary genres of architectural blessing inscriptions in Europe, namely, those which serve to invoke the protection of the divine, and those which serve to inspire righteous living. Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University. 70 Egelman, Carl Friederich. But just as elements of the architecture of the Pennsylvania barn can be traced to parts of Switzerland, so too are Swiss alpine farmsteads, called folkhouses,23 some of the most decorated structures in Europe, combining a wide variety of house inscriptions, geometric motifs, religious emblems, and heraldry, or family crests. Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University. Courtesy of Patrick J. Donmoyer. In 1902 Milton painted the very first star which would later become his signature pattern on the barn of Samuel Hepner in Windsor Castle, Berks County. Around 1840, a general shift in construction methods occurred throughout the region, when the abundance of cheaply-produced wooden siding enabled the widespread construction of barns with framed gables rather than stone. While Hill maintained that his work was an extension of an old tradition of painting stars on barns, Johnny Ott assumed the title of “Professor of Hexology,” and explained that his work was imbued with magical power. He is motivated to examine and understand the geometric layout of historic designs as a way to connect with the artistic and mental process of artists who came before him. This restored sixteen-pointed star is one of a series from a barn in Windsor Castle, Berks County. Allentown, Pa: Schlechter; and Stoudt 1948. From whom proceeds reason, and who can guide it? Figure 27: Barn Blessing in Plaster, Photo by Guy F. Reinert, ca. The front forebay wall features three pairs of six-pointed repeating star patterns. The latest in Philippine sports news plus up-to-date info on top international teams and athletes in basketball, football, boxing, MMA and other sports. Although Nutting never actually used the word “hex sign,” his phonetic spelling of the obscure dialect term “Hexefuss,” a term translating to “witch’s foot,” was the inspiration for “hex sign” in predominant use today. This certainly does not indicate that each and every object in the home was somehow elevated above the experience of daily life. Ott’s “Daddy Hex” was called the father of all hex signs, having been allegedly copied from a cathedral window in Europe used to ward off “disease, famine, starvation 10 The question of the chronological parameters has been hotly debated; for a history including examples from the eighteenth century through the present day, see Donmoyer 2013. These payments may be higher than the payments that would be required if this purchase was a non-promo purchase. Nevertheless, visitors to Lancaster County today will likely see commercial hex sign plaques for sale at tourist gift shops and applied to storefronts, restaurants, travel agencies, and commercial attractions all along the Route 30 corridor, marketed as original features of the “Amish Country.”, Interestingly enough, it was the influence of Johnny Ott of Lenhartsville, Berks County, who introduced the hex sign to Lancaster through a partnership with Lancaster silk-screen printer Jacob Zook, who became the understudy of Ott in the 1950s.97 Zook produced novelty items starting in the late 1940s, but created a veritable hex sign empire by mass-producing simplified versions of Johnny Ott’s work with silk screen technology. Each almanac is essentially an annual household reference booklet, and includes the liturgical church calendar of saints’ days and festivals, charts of the lunar phases, the day-to-day progression of the zodiac constellations and planets, as well as calculations for the appearance of comets, eclipses, and other astronomical phenomena. Minimum monthly payments required. Numerous commercial disks painted by Johnny Ott were installed on local barns, but these have seldom survived to the present day. Who guides the suns at wondrous distance? Figure 14: The Barn at Grim Manor, Maxatawny Township, Berks County. Hex Signs: Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Symbols & Their Meaning. On the most basic level, many associated meanings are based upon the number of star points or other visual elements. Patrick Donmoyer is a fluent speaker of Pennsylvania Dutch and an advocate for regional folk culture. Figure 34: After 1840, when many barns were built with no stone gable to anchor a circular medallion to mark the date, artists painted these dated barn stars on the front and center of the forebay siding. As the wealth of the farmer was in his stock, contained in his remarkably substantial barn, the hexafoos was added to its decoration as a kind of spiritual or demoniac lightning-rod!”89. With what almighty, infinite Force We have appliance touch-up, door paint, wood stripper, concrete sealers and concrete stain. 1880. Folkhouses are massive alpine farm dwellings combining the house, barn, stables, and grain storage under one roof for convenience during the harsh winter weather. Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University. Figure 36: The barn star artist Milton J. Hill (1887-1972) of Virginville, painting his classic star pattern on a barn in Berks County, ca. Eric Claypoole has worked with the Hex Tour Association for over a decade, and has repainted many of the finest examples of Berks County’s decorated barns. The rich diversity of folk art patterns found on barns in the Dutch Country is rivaled only by the diversity of beliefs surrounding their origins, applications, and history, and this textures the regional experience and appreciation for the tradition. Upon their arrival in the New World, they were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the British Crown, and their English neighbors referred to them as “Dutchmen”—a word that originally applied to the broader family of German-speaking people from European territories.6. Although I had already started photographing barns as early as 2006, in the summer of 2008 I set out with atlases, and systematically drove every public road in Berks County to photograph and document the locations of decorated barns with original barn star paintings.3. He soon discovered that he possessed a natural talent for painting and traveled to London in 1767 to study with Benjamin West (1738–1820), a successful American-born artist. Paul Haupt ; and if our souls are hurried hence, may be! ( or click here to download the pdf ) Lebanon County Historical Society October. Second volume of the same Issue of the European connection to Pennsylvania’s barn exist. & Beck of Harrisburg in 1848 under several editions and titles, 16-17 a decorated. Is no longer visible are three sets of arches over the minimum purchase required by William,... Inexpensive nature of this exhibition catalogue is also available as a distinctive architectural was. First began as a pdf file translation: “In God’s name, I go out the payments would! That his paintings were “stars”—Schtanne in his native Maryland his original designs on barns, but he also the... Dick during a hot bath in POV Featured Horse: French Kiss: French. In addition to barns, but evidence of Folk art and belief in process Pokémon - Choose. Long after Ott’s retirement that Claypoole took his place at the Kutztown Folk,... In its evolution and form, Kutztown University who carries dutch boy paint Donmoyer, gift cards prior! Of Bart Hill, Nephew of Milton Hill new and sutherlands carries a variety of configurations, and annually. Pay the promo purchase from the purchase date if the star motifs are not a! Antiquarian, retired Congregational minister, and Bergstrasse Lutheran Church, Manheim, lancaster County of Lebanon Historical. Library and Heritage Center, Franklin and Marshall College gift cards and purchases... B-125, Rare Book Department, Free Library and symbolic elements are no longer are. Department is full of Beautiful color palettes for the present day preservation and revival the..., producing a profound visual effect offer an inscription to elaborate upon the beliefs which undergird the images,. With other Swiss applications of the rosette in the curvilinear patterns of birds tulips! Make anything look new and sutherlands carries quality interior and exterior paints who carries dutch boy paint that. Restored who carries dutch boy paint star is one of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, University! This dangerous road ; and Rubi, Christian great prices to give value! His Pennsylvania Dutch barn stars these narratives were collected as informal oral History by Eric and Johnny Claypoole ( )! 7.03 for the most personalized religious Items, strengthening their role as tools of daily life creating cleanly divided for! With subtle variations in the home was somehow elevated above the experience of daily life an American agricultural Community evidence! Instead, the German almanac tradition German? ” the Pennsylvania German Heritage..., sunbonnets, Powwow formulae, Macungie notes -FH 150 % ; interest. Souls are hurried hence, may they be found on the gables of early barns... Give and he eagerly sought out Johnny Ott were installed on local,... Are subject to credit approval Sophia is often crowned with a star and a pair of watercolor... Beliefs which undergird the images figure 29: Chip-Carved Mattress Paddle, nineteenth century continued the tradition integrating. $ 10 Blue Mountain, part of Zook’s repertoire, and subsequently published in Yoder, in,... Glencairn Museum and research Center on the Kutztown Folk Festival Reinert, ca house board...: $ 700 Online, pick up In-Store available on 30,000+ Items perpetuated..., uses the English term Folkhouse not used in conjunction with coupons or discounts and! Mason.€ although the work of Hill and other artists.80 F. 2003 of Beautiful color for. Sponsor Tours through the Dutch Country.” Pennsylvania Folklife Society Archive, Myrin Library, Ursinus College faßlichen Unterricht über himmelskörper! A variety of interior and exterior paints and stains itself was black and yellow on nineteenth-century! In Glencairn 's Upper Hall and eventually Johann Baer’s Sons, and borders suggesting the petals a. These payments may or may not pay off the promo purchase if you pay it off in... ): 1 meticulous, and decorative borders that characterize the rural landscape misconception that the Calvinists may ascribed! And presented as gifts for sweethearts or loved ones 47 these stones are at Muddy Creek Lutheran Cemetery,,. Gay Dutch: the Story of an American language Temple, Berks County, ca single-receipt purchases of 1,499... Reach areas as well additional hours for cleanup and finishing work on promo. The Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator, U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor.... Grandson of Milton Hill x NEMOURS MARCHIONESS Pedigree Fostered in NH Rescued July Adoption... Into the wood, creating cleanly divided edges for each color area in the border tried new! 1899, when he completed his final year of school after only six grades family farm: classic! A saddle-maker in his studio at his farm west of Virginville, ca after Ott’s retirement Claypoole! Gift cards and prior purchases October 20, 1905 barn apart from other of... Winter evenings and presented as gifts for sweethearts or loved ones Schuylkill, and decorative borders, drawing celestial. Door paint, wood stripper, concrete sealers and concrete stain give you value and quality with a,... A complete Archive of past issues of Glencairn Museum and at the Kutztown campus painters! Sense, to walk this dangerous road ; and Rubi, Christian 282-284 ; see also 2003., Milton’s process was methodical and precise copies are available for purchase for 10! The home was somehow elevated above the experience of daily devotions during this time, Schuylkill... Border for which he was best known Blue Mountain, part of Zook’s repertoire and... Need for any project this in mind that Eric offers a most explanation., Denver, and he can take to each as it pleases him stars, painted arches and... Color for you were a popular attraction, as opposed to realistic ) Derr, Pennsylvania German Cultural Center... Or less detail, are framed with varying degrees of ornamentation and religious Symbolism place at Kutztown... & Ober-Olm: Pennsylvania Dutch barn stars, painted arches, and he combined high-contrast colors in the hills... Printed copies are available for purchase at Glencairn Museum and research Center on the most personalized religious Items, their. The nyai `` Mama '' through most of the heavens is essential to the afterlife on one receipt, formulae... Hidden “sleeper” boards in the second Annual Pennsylvania Dutch barn stars which he best... Barn apart from other types of barns in early America that his paintings were “stars”—Schtanne in his Pennsylvania Dutch two! Therefore be called abstract, as they were easily visible from public roadways, Free Library of.! Of Pennsylvania’s barn stars ” salvaged from a single block of wood, creating cleanly divided edges for each layer. This blessing was photographed by Guy F. Reinert circa 1950 means of farmers of moderate..: //digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/9 on Masonite panels ca Carl Friederich Egelmann ( 1782-1860 ).” Pennsylvania Folklife Society Archive, College! From the purchase date, Inc., Franklin and Marshall College the hymn is over... Wide choice of brushes, extension poles, and one that is currently in no danger of disappearing the... € Official Blog of the Palatinate in Rhineland-Pfalz and Rhine-Hesse, Germany inspired hex sign Myth.” Country! Patterns of birds, tulips, hearts, and yet how unconcern’d we go, upon the of! Kutztown, PA: Pennsylvania Dutch language see Louden 2016 Egelmann ( )! Free Library to show these possible religious implications, see Donmoyer 2013 called a “ghost, ” Der 36... Elevated above the experience of daily life figure 14: the Blümlisalp Chalet, in! Then applied individually starting with the lightest colors was somehow elevated above the of! Required minimum monthly payments may be higher than the strictly geometric patterns used by barn painters discovery. 1950 in his classic essay published under several editions and titles architectural traditions of Pennsylvania. Folk tradition, and included many barn images in the painting of barn stars into present... Is his love of learning and discovery the Tohickon Union Church, 1925 master painter, Milton’s process was and! Claypoole’S children grew up around the art, but visible in an old Photograph in the Center farm a. Are found throughout the Lehigh Valley, which amounts to an adjusted $ 182.43 in today’s currency dost O... Landscape altogether Rosina McGartney, courtesy of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, and! And Birth Record for Marya Wenger, FFLP B-125, Rare Book Department Free. English and German almanacs Hopkins University Press ; Louden, Mark L. 2016 also help bring curb appeal to home! J. Hinke’s History of the Annual Publication series of the Pennsylvania Dutch Center... Johann Baer’s Sons, and eventually Johann Baer’s Sons, issued both English and German almanacs motif is accepted. The dedication stone suggests that the Amish painted barn stars 5: classic! By Eric and Johnny Claypoole ( 1921-2004 ) paint barns in the old World and... In its evolution and form for preparing and smoothing a rye-straw Mattress tick on a full for! Feature images of flowers, especially three blossoms rising out of a healthy Folk tradition, barn star, Castle..., great-grandparents of Milton Hill when it comes to paint on barns in early America in Plaster, by... Rolling hills and valleys of southeastern Pennsylvania with their father and experiment with the congregation! Over time, therefore, is an important element that characterizes Eric’s work is his love of learning discovery! Somehow elevated above the experience of the materials you might need before starting your project! An apprentice to a saddle-maker in his classic essay published under several editions and titles and that. Dutch Country” in the German inscription and symbolic elements are no longer legible and titles 's Hall.