Why are so many barns red?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Answer Person is a little rusty on farm history, but, apparently, so were many early, frugal farmers. Sara Begg’s “Why Are Barns Red?” in the March 2000 issue of COUNTRY JOURNAL concurs with many other sources. She wrote that a “primary component of red paint is ferrous oxide (rust), a plentiful ingredient that made red paint very inexpensive . . . [and that an] especially thrifty farmer could even mix stock blood with milk and achieve the same effect.” She also points to other theories, such as Scandinavian farmers simulating the wealth indicated by red brick barns.