Barnstar
A barnstar (or barn star) is a decorative painted object or image, often in the shape of a five-pointed star but occasionally in a circular "wagon wheel" style, used to adorn a barn. These are most commonly seen in German-American farming communities. Having no structural purpose, they are mainly used for their general aesthetic appeal and are even considered lucky, akin to a horseshoe mounted over a doorway.
History
Barnstars were meant to represent the mark of the builder, but became more frequently used for aesthetic purposes and were added to the building after construction was complete. Enthusiasts have traced a number of wooden barnstars to individual builders in the Pennsylvania area, where numerous examples can still be seen.
Barnstars were used in the United States during the 18th century and as late as 1870 in Pennsylvania, where their popularity increased greatly following the Civil War. Their regular use preceded that time, however, and stars were commonplace on large buildings, particularly factories, in pre-war Richmond, Virginia.
Barnstars remain a very popular form of decoration and modern houses are sometimes decorated with simple, metal, five-pointed stars which the makers describe as 'barn-stars'. They are often deliberately distressed or rusted, alluding to the traditional decoration.
Other star-shaped plates
On older buildings in the Pennsylvania Dutch area of the United States it is still possible to find barnstar-like building adornments which are painted, rather than wooden or metal, known as hex signs. Strictly speaking, they are defined apart from barnstars and visually bear only passing resemblance, but the two are often confused and their names are even regarded as interchangeable. Some hex signs incorporate star shapes, while others may take the form of a rosette or contain pictures of birds and other animals.
The term barnstar has been incorrectly applied to star-shaped anchor plates that were used for structural reinforcement on buildings in the 18th and 19th centuries. These were made of cast iron, wrought iron, or steel, and were used as tie plates serving as the washers for tie rods on brick or other masonry-based buildings. The tie-rod-and-plate assembly serves to brace the masonry wall against lateral bowing.
Some Wiki-based communities give their users an award called a 'barn star', as a continuation of the 'barn raising' metaphor. This originated on MeatballWiki. The image that is frequently used for this purpose is actually a photo of one of the structural tie plates described above, not of a barn star proper.
See also
References
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnstar
