How to move a barn from point A to B with little more than bodies and hands?

A gathering of Amish people recently showed how in the Geauga County community.

The report is that “over 250 Amish men and others were there to to help move a pole barn from one side of a farm to the other.”

All images by Mount Vernon News

If you look at the video I think it’s actually fewer than that physically lifting the barn, with a number of others observing (maybe having helped with related tasks, or just there to cheer the lifters-and-carriers on, so to speak).

The job was done in less than five minutes.

Now this is a pole barn and not a timber frame barn, so it’s a relatively lightweight structure. Still not something you’d want to drop on your toes.

No doubt this took some coordination.

It’s not the first time Amish have moved structures by this method. Here are videos of similar barn moves in Wisconsin and New York.

A more difficult move was pulled off by Amish in Iowa, who segmented a turkey barn into four sections, and moved each one-by-one. That was a four-hour job.

Some Amish build skid houses, for that matter, which are designed to be moved.

I do wonder why the barn needed to be moved. Did the owner simply change his mind as to where he preferred it to sit? Or maybe there was a new building project on the property which required its relocation.

No matter, have a look at the video from Mount Vernon News to see this in action:

You might also like:


Get the Amish in your inbox


    Question on the Amish? Get answers to 300+ questions in 41 categories at the Amish FAQ.