With a warm climate, Florida barns typically sheltered supplies, not animals. Livestock stayed outdoors year-round. Inside a Florida barn, you would find seed, fertilizer, hay, and farm tools. Outside, it would provide cover for farm machinery. The size of the barn was determined by the financial means of the farmer and the size of their operation.
This rough-cut pine barn is typical of those built by Florida farmers in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is a copy of the “100 Farm” Harllee Barn which once stood a few miles north of Palmetto on the east side of State Highway 41 at Experimental Farm Road. The Harllee Barn is now located at the Manatee County Fair Grounds in Palmetto and can be visited during public events such as the Manatee County Fair. The figure “100” indicates the Harllee farm encompassed 100 acres. The barn was built by Peter Stuart Harllee (1845-1911).
Peter S. Harllee’s son, John Pope Harllee Sr., was born in the Village of Manatee in 1882. Peter S. Harllee’s brother, Captain John W. Harllee, was buried in 1887 in the 1850 Old Manatee Burying Ground (12) located across 15th Street East from our 1887 Church.
This replica barn received its name, Potter Barn, as a way of honoring Rodney Potter, an avid supporter of preservation at Manatee Village Historical Park.
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Replica barn typical of those built by Florida Farmers