Why Are Barn’s Always’s Painted The Color Red?

Have you ever noticed the traditional red barn? Why is the red barn a tradition anyways?

With the majority of our listeners being farmers and..... farmers daughters :) have you ever noticed why your barn, (if you have one) is the color red (If your barn is red)? From what I have been reading it is a tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years, but why?

I found two convincing theories as to why farmers long ago would paint their barn red, only red paint has nothing to do with the color. European farmers would paint the barn with linseed oil to protect them from the elements and prevent the wood from rotting, linseed oil is a tan color.

But where does the red color come in? One theory is wealthy farmers hundreds of years ago in Europe would add blood from a recent slaughter to the oil, It went from a bright red to a darker red as the oil dried. The second theory is farmers would add ferrous oxide or rust to the oil. They would add rust as a poison to prevent mold and moss from growing on the barn, these fungi would trap moisture in the wood and cause a quicker decay in the wood.

As the European farmers began to migrate into the US they brought the red tradition barn with them. But in the 1800's when paint began to be sold in the color red, it was also the most expensive color. With white paint being  cheaper, farmers started using white paint instead. That is why nowadays barns can be found in all sorts of colors.