From the days when Thomas Jefferson envisioned the new republic as a nation dependent on citizen farmers for its stability and its freedom, the family farm has been a vital image in the American consciousness. As the main structures of farms, barns evoke a sense of tradition and security, of closeness to the land and community with the people who built them. Many farmers built their barns before they built their houses, so many farm families look to their old barns as links with their past. Old barns are often community landmarks and embody ethnic traditions and local customs.