Barns of Summers County

For centuries barns served many functions: housing for animals, storage for equipment, and graineries. Farmers threshed grain on barn floors, stored hay for feeding livestock in lofts, and sheltered animals in stalls.  To farmers, barns were as essential as the houses they lived in. To many  barns represent tradition, hard work and independence. These associations are just as much a part of the barn as its framework and its roofing. The barn was also the heart of the farm and a vital center of community life. It was a place for dancing, praying, and a place for children to play. For Summers County, West Virginia, the vernacular structures were recalled and a "barn raisin" ensued. The objective of the project was not to raise the sides of a building......but to help raise awareness of the importance of preservation of our barns, the history of our people as well as our libraries.

Phyllis Campbell Whitley is a native of Summers County, West Virginia.  She grew up in nearby  Beckley but her childhood summers were at her grandparents’ farms. She spent most of her adult life working as an executive for a national corporation in the “big cities” including several years at Bell Laboratories in New York City and New Jersey.  She is also an artist, photographer and author. She has an abiding love for the people and the county that they call “home”. Her  mission these past four years has been to fulfill her passion to  chronicle  the heritage, the culture, and more importantly, the people who created the barns, and to  preserve these treasures  for future generations. Today, she has a cottage on the Greenbrier River and spends her time between West Virginia, her home in Spotsylvania, Virginia, and traveling. Actively involved in a Sister City Program with Fréjus, France, for over 20 years. She has visited frequently with friends there.