Knox County Bicentennial

An excellent day trip! Grab some friends and share the ride! Plan a picnic! See the sights!  Mark your calendars NOW!

The beauty of the Knox County countryside will be celebrated with a Bicentennial Barn Tour, scheduled for Saturday, July 19th.  In honor of the Knox County Bicentennial, The Knox County Renaissance Foundation (KCRF) has organized a self-guided driving tour of 12 selected Knox County Barns from very old, to moderately old, to a "fall-down" barn that has been recycled into a new retail facility.  Co-chairs Tom Fish and Phyllis Williams have consulted with nationally recognized barn consultant Pam Gray and with the barn owners to provide historical information and special notes for each barn.

Each barn will feature a display or activity of some kind: open air tractor tours, working craftsmen, arrowhead displays, friendly farm animals, antique tractors and farm implements and fine art and crafts displays are among the activities committed so far. Barn owners and KCRF staff will be on hand to answer questions during the tour.

In cooperation with the Knox County Art League, each of the selected barns is being professionally rendered by a Knox County artist.  Meet those artists and view all the original Barn Portraits at a public reception Saturday, July 12 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at SIPS in downtown Mount Vernon.  Each portrait will be displayed at its subject barn during the day of the tour.  Reproductions of the "barn art" will be available for sale to the public in various forms from posters to note cards.

Download our free Tour Guide, containing suggested tour routes, maps & parking information, barn notes, artist notes, and membership information.

Please note that the Barns R Noble Tour is scheduled for Saturday, July 19, 2008 only. Some of our barns are on working farms - others would not be safe to view unattended. Please do not expect to visit the tour barns on any other day than the tour day. Thank you for your cooperation. The Knox County Renaissance Foundation, the Knox County Art League, the property and business owner(s) and any/all of their respective representatives and/or affiliates are not responsible for any risks occurring before, during or after the Knox County Bicentennial Barn Tour, including damage or injury by any cause.