Acadian Archives

Original Caption: “M(?). Landry’s Barn inside looking up and East, beams pegged and cut by axe.” Daniel Deveau points out that many of the region's barns resemble upturned boats, especially when examining their framing. To him, this is an Acadian feature; he notes that Acadians built gambrel-style roofs, while French-Canadian or Québécois builders chose gable roofs primarily. The maritime background of Acadians, many of whom were shipbuilders, could explain this difference. Another reason for this roof style could be practical -- one barn owner explained that lots and lots of loose hay led to the architectural style's creation -- Aroostook County started baling hay later than the rest of the state, and gambrel roofs create more interior space to store it.

Many of the barns in the region, like this one, use hand-hewn timber and braces, with no flared posts or English tying joints which are common elsewhere.

Photographer David Gilbert's pictures of the Landry barn did not include a specific location either as a caption or as a descriptor. Other items in his collection featured buildings in Eagle Lake and on the Little Black River. When contacted in 2022, Mr. Gilbert could not be certain of the Landry barn's exact location, but proved fairly confident that these pictures were taken on the north side of the main road in St. Francis.