Barn Spelunking #1

It has been rainy here the last couple of days and we were cooped up inside.  During Ayla's naptime the rain let up and Amy had the idea of 'exploring the barn'.  We have only gone through the barn, in it's entirety, about twice and it was not a very thorough venture.  In a month and a half of living here, you'd think we'd know more about our barn.  Armed with flashlights we went searching for the unknown.

The barn was built in 1889.  A lot of people have been in and out of those doors and they have left behind a lot of junk.  Some of that junk has turned old with age but with a little scrubbing we found some old stuff that could have some type of collectible value too it.  I feel like I could run a small antique store with the goods that we are finding in the barn.  Here are the noteworthy finds of today's spelunk (there is undoubtedly more to find).

This barn clearly held livestock in it in for many of the past 122 years: cows, horses, pigs and likely goats.  We found a snaffle bit, one fancy curb bit, work harnesses and sinches.  For horses we found one very large leather harness and a leather bug net.  Other tools we found included the hay bale hook, an excellent old pitchfork and a ladder.  Then it got interesting.

This is an old Lysol glass bottle.  The Lysol logo is imprinted on the glass.  I do not know how old the bottle is, there is no label and no date.  The cap is plastic, which tells me it is probably not terribly old.

Upon researching Lysol, the company was founded in 1918 to help fight polio infestation.  Obviously this time frame works with our barn's, but I unfortunately don't know the exactness.

Fleming's No. 10 Blister for us as a local stimulant and counter-irritant producing a blistering effect helpful in treating atrophy or wasting away of shoulder or hip muscles of horses.

This is still in the box and from what I can tell was never used.  Although I couldn't find any information of this online, I did find that a farming journal spoke about the company in a 1908 publication.  On eBay a 1910 bottle can be purchased.  I do not know the date of this bottle, but it is cool nonetheless.

An old fashioned oil can straight out of the Wizard of Oz.  There is only a partial, difficult to read label left on the container.  It reads "Spring Prevents Collapse of Oiler Bottom".

The next part reads 'patented 1915'.

That doesn't mean this can is from 1915 or around that date, but it certainly gives it a general time period.  There are several oil cans such as these back where I imagine the pigs to have been.  I don't think the two are related :)







Even farmers have their vices:

This product and brand still exists.  In fact Phillips is the maker of your favorite Bacardi products.

I was unable to find how old the brandy is but this bottle and label suggests it goes back some time.

This is a Velvet cigarette tin.  My guess is that it predates the days when cigarettes were sold in paper packaging.  At the bottom of the tin it says that it is distributed by Liggett & Myers Company.  This company is still around and has been since the middle of the 1800's.

The tin also says "Is made from the finest Kentucky Burley Leaf Tobacco ripened in natures sunshine and cured in nature's way".  Mild & Mellow.  The Velvet brand, as far as I can tell, no longer exists.

Cool old pail.

Cool old lock

Rob climbing cool old ladder

Something tells me we have just scratched the surface with old memorabilia in that barn.  I am hoping we can share more in the future!