# Does that big star decoration that many houses have mean anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 16, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505 "2022-05-16T17:52:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/1 "2022-05-16T17:52:57Z")
My husband is retiring in a year or two and we plan to move near our grandson in western Pennsylvania-- suburbs of Pittsburgh. Let me say this early-- we are people of color. For fun and research, I’ve been doing Zillow and Redfin searches and showing my husband the best ones. One was so nice (and affordable) we began to think that, maybe, we could try and swing the two mortgages and. . . my husband checked Street View. The house next door had a big, honkin’ Confederate flag. Thanks almost neighbor for giving us the warning. But my husband is also very suspicious of houses that display those big star decorations. He thinks that they are a more subtle indication of people not liking us for no good damned reason who may want to set our lawn on fire with a cross. Is this true? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/2 "2022-05-16T17:55:00Z")
Do they look like this? > **[Meaning of Decorative Stars Seen on Country Homes and Porches | Metal Barn...](https://www.front-porch-ideas-and-more.com/meaning-of-decorative-stars-seen-on-country-homes-and-porches.html)** > > Our reader Kay asks about the meaning of decorative stars seen on country homes and porches. > We did some research and found some interesting facts behind these popular metal barn stars often seen on barns, farmhouses, > country porches and even... ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/3 "2022-05-16T18:00:18Z")
Yes. These exact ones. According to this site they are also known as Pennsylvania stars. This site says they are decorative but I don’t think that site would announce if they had any racist symbolism. I hope not. This would rule out so many nice homes for us. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/4 "2022-05-16T18:06:19Z")
I always associated them with Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/5 "2022-05-16T18:22:56Z")
Regardless of the original origin of those decorations, it’s probably so obscure that the people who put them up have no idea of what it means, if anything, so it’s difficult to say anything about their ideology on that basis. In general, be aware that the Pittsburgh suburbs voted for Trump over both Clinton and Biden (though by a smaller margin in the case of Biden). So depending on how strict you are about interpreting things as signs of racism, you might have a hard time finding a place with no objectionable neighbors in that area. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/6 "2022-05-16T18:25:43Z")
OK, so. . . many people have been suspicious of these stars for some time. But, after following all these links it turns out they are barn stars, Amish Barn Stars, Pennsylvania Dutch Stars or just Pennsylvania Stars. They are, in fact, good luck stars that the Pennsylvania Dutch put on barns for good luck. Now they are cottagecore and, even though I’m not a twenty-something pale lesbian (don’t get mad, you know you love it) I LOOOOOVE cottagecore. I would so much enjoy being a young, lithe woman traipsing through the English countryside picking fresh herbs and flowers to decorate my front garden with and cook on my woodburning stove. I will tell my husband that he needn’t worry that our neighbor will burn a cross on our lawn. Or, not as much. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/7 "2022-05-16T18:35:59Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > …picking fresh herbs and flowers to decorate my front garden… why not just grow them _ **in** _ the front garden ? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/8 "2022-05-16T18:38:45Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > my husband checked Street View. The house next door had a big, honkin’ Confederate flag. This isn’t what you asked, but it occurs to me that Street View is not always current, and the Confederates could have long since moved away. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/9 "2022-05-16T18:52:30Z")
As the link says, barn stars are just decorative. My house has a huge one (5 feet across) on the garage. It was there when we bought the place years ago. It makes it easy for folk to find the place (look for the house with the big star). However, I’ve been considering removing it because birds like to build nests on it, and with the vibration the garage door makes the babies fall out of the nest and die like clockwork every year. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/10 "2022-05-16T18:57:09Z")
I saw those stars all the time in Texas and figured it was a ‘lone star’ thing. Of course I did see one on the side of a house today in Toronto. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/11 "2022-05-16T19:00:03Z")
Very true. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/12 "2022-05-16T19:26:22Z")
I’ve seen this star in the Pacific Northwest on the same houses that have BLM signs, for what it’s worth. Cottagecore, that’s exactly it. They probably have Live Love Laugh signs over their fireplaces. The hubby and I are also trying to move, and one of the reasons is to get away from some pretty scary displays of red-blooded American patriotism, wink wink, in this neighborhood. We’ve been called “Fag” on the street, and have been rather menacingly questioned by passersby as well, so it seems time to think about moving on. On a prospective new block, a really noticeable number of Trump signs is very much an indicator to keep on looking. It’s got me thinking about how some people call BLM signs, etc. “virtue signaling.” Well, maybe it is. And maybe I really, really appreciate that virtue being signaled to me! Best of luck to you. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/13 "2022-05-16T19:28:20Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I saw those stars all the time in Texas and figured it was a ‘lone star’ thing. That’s its Yelp rating. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/14 "2022-05-16T19:31:16Z")
Ha! It seems like my husband is having the exact opposite problem as you and your husband. We are both lifelong New Yorkers. Me from The Bronx, he from Brooklyn and he does notice all the Trump signs and people who are unfriendly for absolutely no reason at all whenever we visit the grandson. He does NOT want to move into a location you are looking to move out of. This country, man. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/15 "2022-05-16T19:38:40Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Yes. These exact ones. According to this site they are also known as Pennsylvania stars. This site says they are decorative but I don’t think that site would announce if they had any racist symbolism I’ve started seeing these weird things on homes here in Burlington, Ontario, a relatively affluent suburb of Toronto, and I’ve resolved a thousand times to start a thread asking what the hell they are, so thanks. Burlington is not exactly Texas and isn’t known for having a lot of Texas expats or Amish folk, so I doubt people putting these things up really have any symbolism in mind. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/16 "2022-05-16T19:50:07Z")
Good point. I think this one is check-able, though: [wasn’t paywalled for me] > **[Finding the Date on a Map Image (Published 2017)](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/technology/personaltech/finding-the-date-on-a-map-image.html)** > > The Street View feature of Google Maps stitches together 360-degree photos of a location, and there is a way to see when an image was created. > [@](#): > > **Q.** _Is there any way to tell the age of a photo used in Google Maps Street View?_ > > **A.** One way to see when Google’s photo-snapping staff captured an image is to look at it in the desktop version of Google Maps. After you enter an address, click in your browser to the results. Select [the Street View option](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3093484?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en) (if one is available), and you should see a small label at the bottom of the screen that says “Image Capture,” followed by a month and year. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/17 "2022-05-16T20:20:45Z")
You might want to research how the community your interested in voted in the last election. We just moved from Washington, DC into a small town in Virginia, but we have friends here and were able to select a neighborhood in town that is more liberal than the surrounding county, ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/18 "2022-05-16T20:36:25Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > But, after following all these links it turns out they are barn stars, Amish Barn Stars, Pennsylvania Dutch Stars or just Pennsylvania Stars. They are, in fact, good luck stars that the Pennsylvania Dutch put on barns for good luck Yep. The stars are for good luck, and they have their origins in Germany. Immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s brought them over, which is why you see them a lot in Pennsylvania. We have one on our house, but it’s on the back of the house so we can’t give people directions to the house with the star. Besides, there’s a lot of houses with stars around here so that wouldn’t exactly narrow it down. We also occasionally have Amish buggies drive down our road, and you don’t have to go too far before all of the grocery stores and convenience stores have special buggy parking spots. Having a lot of barn stars around here shouldn’t be much of a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/19 "2022-05-16T20:45:03Z")
In most cases, they’re just decorative. There are some contexts where they mean more, though. For instance, there’s a Cleveland neighborhood where the Union army had a mustering/training camp, and some of the houses in that neighborhood date back to that time. Those houses in that particular neighborhood are marked with stars. Not that, in that particular case, it’s anything to be ashamed of (though of course there are a lot of potential issues to look out for in old houses). But there might be other meanings elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505/20 "2022-05-16T20:59:02Z")
Can you tell me what neighborhood? I’m curious because my friend just bought a house near Euclid Beach Park and removed a star from her house (I had no idea what it means, I took it to be nautical as the house is on the lake). It would be interesting if her star had meaning! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-that-big-star-decoration-that-many-houses-have-mean-anything/964505.md?page=2)