Who we are

The organization

Our mission is to educate the public and raise awareness to the importance of historic barns and farmsteads in Minnesota, and to help advocate for barn preservation. We offer educational workshops and assist others in finding resources for preservation and/or restoration of historic barns and farmsteads.

Formerly operating as a barn preservation program under the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), and as a result of 2003 state budget cuts, a group of citizens volunteered on Saturday, October 11, 2003 to establish a new organization. In March of 2004, a general membership meeting was held in Chisago City to ratify our charter and bylaws to operate as a newly formed organization.

In 2013, a board retreat was held to re-organize the group. The Board agreed that we aim to be both an informational source as well as a group that works to preserve barns. The re-organization resulted in the formation of committees and subcommittees to allocate the work load equally among board members and to create a clear list of tasks, member responsible for each task, and due date of task. The three committees are the Executive (made up of the president, Treasurer and Secretary), the Events, and the Communications Committees.

In 2014, FoMB achieved 501(c) (3) nonprofit status.

The Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors consists of twelve elected members of which a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary are selected by the Board. All of our Board members are passionate about barn preservation and meet to organize activities and review, discuss, and decide the direction for the organization. Board meetings are generally open to the membership and visitors. Each director serves a three-year term with elections taking place at the Annual Meeting.

Board meetings

The FoMB Board meets roughly every 6-8 weeks on an as-needed basis at Davanni’s in Eden Prairie.  

FoMB members are welcome to attend. Contact any board member for next meeting information.