Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn - Frenchburg, KY, US
N 37° 57.568 W 083° 37.000
17S E 270117 N 4204547
Located on Old Beaver Rd.
Waymark Code: WMQZTT
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 04/20/2016
Views: 4
Mail Pouch Barn, is a barn with one or more sides painted from 1890 to 1992 with a barn advertisement for the West Virginia Mail Pouch chewing tobacco company.
barn owners were paid between $1 and $2 a year for the advertisement, equivalent in 1913 dollars to about $20–$40 today. But more importantly, they received a much desired fresh coat of paint to preserve the integrity of the wood. Mail Pouch painted their message on one or two sides of the barn (depending on viewability from the roadway) and painted the other sides of the barn any color the owner wished. Many of the barns were repainted every few years to maintain the sharp colors of the lettering.
After World War II, many of the barns were painted by Harley Warrick of Belmont County, Ohio.[2] He once estimated that he had painted 20,000 barns in his life, spending an average of six hours on each. Warrick claimed that he always began each barn with the "E" in the word "Chew". Other barns were painted by Mark Turley, Don Shires, and several others. Their initials remain preserved on some of the barns with the date of the painting. These initials can be found on the blue border surrounding the front side, or nearer to the roof.
Construction: Wood
Is this a 'working' barn?: Don't know
Other:
Storage
Distinctive Features: Barn Art (tell us about it below)
Other Distinctive Features:
Mail Pouch Tobacco painted on side and barn quilt on the front.
Rating - Please Rate this Barn: 
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