Last week we saw Amish men building a barn, this week they are moving one. Over the past week or so a video showing Amish men moving a pole barn has gone viral. I noticed today even the big UK media started covering it.
However, the original viral clip is not great. The phone is held at strange angles by the recorder, and there is some rough language in it.
I was just now able to find a better version to share with you. This clean video, recorded by someone else, shows much more of the moving process, from a better angle and closer view.
The one caveat is that the clip starts out with the regular recorded sound – which is nice because you can hear the move leader call out instructions to the team.
But about 90 seconds in, an instrumental song starts up, covering the natural audio. It would have been nice to have the full video without that overlay, so you could hear more of the interaction.
But that noted, this video on balance still comes out as superior to the one that has gone viral.
More on the video: there are a few things of note here. We have seen videos similar to this – of Amish moving structures – in the past. This one gives you some close views of what is happening.
How many men are involved here? I would estimate in the 150-200 range, though other sources posting this are suggesting 300. These close shots show you their feet and lower legs moving along underneath and nothing else.
“Somebody’s walking backwards”, a man watching observes.
Yes indeed, a couple somebodies in fact. I wouldn’t want to trip, especially at the back.
The team maneuvers the barn down an incline.
The women follow along behind.
This video is also longer, and edited to show you more of the distance involved, while the popular one cuts off before the men get very far.
A young Amish guy races past on horseback.
At at least one point, they stop and lift up again. Maybe this was a rest break.
It’s not just the adults at work. Here you see a boy helping out as well.
Another interesting detail – a man riding on the frame within the barn.
A free-rider? Probably not. There must be a purpose for the team to carry his added weight.
I would guess he monitors the team from within the structure somehow, perhaps coordinating with the men walking in front of the barn.
The men finally get the barn to its new home, and rotate it into position.
This is reportedly the Hillsboro, Wisconsin community (not to be confused with Hillsboro, Kentucky, subject of yesterday’s post).
Here’s the full video, by YouTube uploader “Grandpa HERE”. Another great example of Amish teamwork.
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Barn size
What is the actual size of barn? Looks about 40 ft by 80 ft Can you find out. Thanks!
That seems like a good guess…looks about twice as long as it is wide. I haven’t found that detail yet, but I’ll let you know if I can find anything out.
Robert the author of this video says it was 45 x 80, so you were close.
What can we learn from this?
The Amish in Wisconsin, and elsewhere, are known for their ability to move buildings, typically houses, but apparently barns are within their expertise as well. I’ve met some of the Hillsboro Amish, I’ve enjoyed my conversations with them.
Notice how few “executives” are in the images. What can we learn from this? Main stream American culture can learn so much from the Amish; unfortunately, we learn so little.
The first such video I came across was from the community at Dalton, WI. I remember a story from around 2007 out of Iowa but unfortunately no video attached – the men that time segmented a 160-foot-long turkey barn into four pieces to be able to move it. https://amishamerica.com/a_most_unusual_/
I have never heard of accidents occurring in any of these moves. They look to be well-organized and know what they are doing (even though this is likely the first such occasion for many involved).
Great find!
This video is definitely higher quality. Excellent find and great post! Loved the screen shots.
Glad you liked it Rose, this filmer did a great job with this one. Hopefully more people get a chance to view it.
SIMPLY <3 AMAZING!
WOW, now that is what teamwork looks like….many hands make the work lighter, to help accomplish this. I, too, would be interested to know how large the barn is, & IF it was empty, or contain stalls or anything else already framed in, inside?
Wonder if contractors might know the weight, approximately?
Love the family and community dedication that the Amish portray.
THANK YOU Erik, for sharing all of these things while we are “Staying in, Saving lives”….
Gladly, CJ. This is definitely lighter than a traditional barn though I also wonder how much each person had to exert to pull their weight, so to speak. Some of them look like they are huffing and puffing.
Just a dumb question
Wouldn’t it of been easier to just build a new barn at the site they were moving the structure to?
I’m not sure if this is accurate, but a commenter said that it was bought from an English person and then moved off site. If the price is right and you can organize this amount of manpower like the Amish can, this might be the easier and more economic way to do it.
Okay
Hhhmmm. That’s a consideration I hadn’t considered.
Labor and materials
Building from scratch takes labor plus materials whereas moving an existing structure requires only labor. That’s the economy to it. An accounting of total man-hours for this task would be interesting. I wonder how many lifters were involved. Lots of feet showing under those walls.
I’d be curious to see the same. Many more men on this move job but for a significantly shorter time than you’d think the average crew would take to put one of these up. I saw another account that said it was 250. The dimensions of the barn, I learned, are 45′ by 80′.
Each man is only carrying about 50-60 pounds. Which makes it pretty reasonable to do.
I would have thought the barn’s final resting place would be on a concrete pad or gravel pad. Kind of surprised it is sitting on grass, seems like the wood would rot quickly.
Good info, thanks for sharing
Thanks
Thanks for sharing but the picture is very meaningful
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barn moving
i am looking for a group of men to move a barn and shed from neighbors to my hill.
Flatbed towing
Heavy-duty trucks are towed by flatbed tow trucks, which are used to transport large loads and cars from one location to another. This kind of truck can transport heavy machinery and other equipment.
How many men are involved here?