Buchanan Community Schools has announced its Buchanan School Farm Barn has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 Barn of the Year Award, presented by the Michigan Barn Preservation Network.
Buchanan Middle School social studies teacher Monica Luke tells us the barn is located on about 80 acres of farm property along Andrews Road that the school district bought back in the 70s.
“It was sold from an estate on June 29, 1973,” Luke said. “So, we don’t have an exact date on the barn. We’re thinking early 1900s, just based on the fact that it’s a gambrel barn.”
The barn is an old-fashioned big, red barn that is now maintained by volunteers. Luke says the school uses it for events and storage.
“It’s kind of a gathering place as well when we hold our field trips. Our kindergarten through our fourth grade students come to the school farm for a variety of activities. We build scarecrows, we plant pumpkins.”
Luke says nine barns around the state were nominated for the Barn of the Year award, and the Buchanan barn won an honor along with five others. The official presentation of the award took place at a conference on Saturday.
Now that the Buchanan barn is an award winner, it gets a plaque and a large “Barn of the Year” sign. Luke says it’s rewarding to receive the honor after all the work she put into the application.
The community is now invited to come and see the barn for themselves with a Plow Day and Pancake Breakfast on April 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Luke says the school is also looking for volunteers to help repaint the barn. Anyone who can help should contact Buchanan Middle School.
You can learn more about the award right here.
