Solved!

Why Are Barns Painted Red?

Historically, farmers treated barn exteriors to protect them.

Because barns were so important, farmers needed to protect them from the elements. They sealed the wood with a mixture that included linseed oil, which has a natural orange hue.

Some speculate that barns’ red coloring was once derived from animal blood.

Some claim that wealthy farmers would add the blood of their recent slaughter to the oil mix. There isn’t much historical data on the topic, so no one can say for sure whether this is true.

A more likely answer is  iron oxide.

Farmers added iron oxide (rust) to their sealant, which would change some of its properties, not least of which was its color.

Red barn paint later caught on because of its low price.

It’s theorized that red barn paint, at the time, was the least expensive to buy, so farmers continued painting their barns red out of practicality.

Today, barns are painted red out of tradition.

This is a centuries-old custom that isn’t likely to fade any time soon, and we hope it never does.

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