loading image
People have used devices to measure the wind since ancient times. A sudden change in the direction of the wind, combined with prevailing weather conditions, could help determine the forecast. American colonists, using technological skills brought with them from Europe, began crafting weathervanes during the seventeenth century. Eventually, each village, town, and city displayed a weathervane atop its highest building. Early weathervanes were carved from wood or fabricated from various metals. As greater numbers of farmers and settlers moved to rural areas, weathervanes appeared more frequently on the tops of individual homes and barns. Regardless of the pictorial theme, a weathervane was adhered to a cross-shaped, hollow-metal rod with the vertical section serving as its pivot point. Directional arrows marked with the letters N, S, E, W, were then added. Weathervane courtesy of the collection of the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. See "#AmericanFolkArt: An Enduring Legacy", on display, pre-security, in the International Terminal. http://bit.ly/AmericanFolkArt
This image was posted on January 04, 2018.