# What are these buildings for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339 "2016-05-08T21:29:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RememberMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@RememberMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RememberMe)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/1 "2016-05-08T21:29:20Z")
Like the title says, I pass these buildings in rural Georgia as part of my commute. They seem to have no windows, and a small hatch in the bottom. There are three identical ones all near each other. The land they are on looks to be not used for any commercial purpose. Anyone? [![](http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160508/e0ba9c0dc74096bbc649aae762327705.jpg) ](http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160508/e0ba9c0dc74096bbc649aae762327705.jpg) [![](http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160508/1d5c62627c3a39721a5a080edee5efe0.jpg) ](http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160508/1d5c62627c3a39721a5a080edee5efe0.jpg) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/2 "2016-05-08T21:59:25Z")
Kind of look like storage shacks for highway crews. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/3 "2016-05-08T22:01:08Z")
It looks to be a tobacco barn. [https://virginiamodern.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/tobacco-barn-considering-a-lineage/](https://virginiamodern.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/tobacco-barn-considering-a-lineage/) ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/4 "2016-05-08T22:06:58Z")
NOT a tobacco barn. I’ve seen those. They are intended to dry the leaves. You don’t dry tobacco in Georgia. They are painted green to blend in with the woods. Another vote for storage for road maintenance crews. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/5 "2016-05-09T01:11:49Z")
Georgians grew and cured tobacco in my lifetime, and still do (6th largest state for acreage as of 2012 per the USDA). This guy is investing in his tobacco barns as of 2014: [http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2014-06-14/story/georgia-tobacco-may-be-rebounding-low-point#](http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2014-06-14/story/georgia-tobacco-may-be-rebounding-low-point#) _Back on the farm, some of his tobacco barns — actually metal buildings about the size of semi-trailers — were getting new roofs. When he scraps seven and gets eight new ones, Johnson will have 55 ready for the harvest._ I am not saying those are tobacco barns, but it sure looks like one. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/6 "2016-05-09T01:59:38Z")
Unlikely to be a tobacco barn. Why would you build a tobacco-drying facility in the shade of tall trees? Being in direct sunlight would be an advantage. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/7 "2016-05-09T02:23:25Z")
You need to ask Arthur “Two Sheds” Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/8 "2016-05-09T02:37:44Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Unlikely to be a tobacco barn. Why would you build a tobacco-drying facility in the shade of tall trees? Being in direct sunlight would be an advantage. I wonder if they were originally tobacco barns, were abandoned for that purpose, and the trees have grown up around them since. They may have been re-purposed for some kind of storage given them seem to be maintained, but I have a hard time believing that was their original intent. The proportions seem odd for a storage shed and in neither picture can one see a roll up door or any means to get something of any size in or out efficiently. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/9 "2016-05-09T02:50:38Z")
> [@Baracus](#): > > I wonder if they were originally tobacco barns, were abandoned for that purpose, and the trees have grown up around them since. They may have been re-purposed for some kind of storage given them seem to be maintained, but I have a hard time believing that was their original intent. The proportions seem odd for a storage shed and in neither picture can one see a roll up door or any means to get something of any size in or out efficiently. In neither picture can you see the entrance at all, and a tobacco barn would certainly have an entrance, so I don’t think we can draw any conclusions from the fact that we aren’t shown the entrance. I also not that there isn’t much in either picture to give a sense of scale. These buildings look relatively tall, in proportion to length and depth, but I have no sense of how tall they are in absolute terms. Any tobacco barns that I have ever seen are normally the height of at least a two-storey house. They are lacking the fairly elaborate ventilation systems that I would expect a tobacco barn to have. Or, at least, I’m not seeing any sign of them. Are they originally tobacco barns, older than the trees around them, and now repurposed for storage? Nothing about the buildings suggests that they are older than the trees around them, and I’m not sure there’d be any great efficiency in reconditioning and restoring a derelict tobacco barn rather than just putting up a new shed. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/10 "2016-05-09T03:49:13Z")
Tobacco barns have slatted walls for ventilation. Though the concrete culvert pipes nearby may simply be a coincidence, my vote is that it likely houses a sewerage lift station or similar part of a drainage network. They look less than 20 years old to me. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/11 "2016-05-09T04:34:17Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Tobacco barns have slatted walls for ventilation. > > Though the concrete culvert pipes nearby may simply be a coincidence, my vote is that it likely houses a sewerage lift station or similar part of a drainage network. They look less than 20 years old to me. When I read the OP and saw the line about buildings with no windows, my first thought was something to do with the water or sewage utility. Based on the pipes, I assume that’s correct. We have them around here too, but they look like regular houses (often times right in the middle of a subdivision). The only way you can tell them apart is that the windows are opaque. This one isn’t from my city/state, but we have ones just like it. [http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-normal-looking-house-is-fake-and-actually-hides-a-1505479080](http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-normal-looking-house-is-fake-and-actually-hides-a-1505479080) Now, if you’re out in the middle of nowhere, I’m not sure why they’d feel the need to hide it, OTOH, maybe they wanted it to blend in with the woods and built (or bought) a tobacco barn around it. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/12 "2016-05-09T05:13:12Z")
Pump houses. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/13 "2016-05-09T05:20:25Z")
You could find maps of your counties sewerage upgrade works… They may be temporary covers over a work area. Its up high so that the cover doesn’t interfere with ability to access the pipe eg works in Perry " Installation Of Watertight Boltdown Frames & Covers On Approximately 20 Manholes, Build A New Invert Channel On Approimately 10 Manholes" Works in Dekalb > **[Dekalb County, Ga., Agrees to Major Sanitary Sewer System Upgrades](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/dekalb-county-ga-agrees-major-sanitary-sewer-system-upgrades)** > > DeKalb County, Ga. has agreed to make major improvements to its sanitary sewer systems in an effort to eliminate unauthorized overflows of untreated sewage. DeKalb County, Ga. has agreed to make major improvements to its sanitary sewer systems in an effort to eliminate unauthorized overflows of untreated sewage, the U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced today. ---
**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/14 "2016-05-09T11:25:43Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Pump houses. Yep. Or cosmetic cover / protection for electrical substation. I have seen several pictures of dummy houses (in Georgia!) that enclose substations within housing developments. In these cases the clue was that there was no driveway or connecting sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/15 "2016-05-09T13:19:50Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Pump houses. This is my $1.38 as well … Tobacco sheds aren’t closed in at all … they have major vertical openings in the walls {[Picture Cite](http://digital.vpr.net/post/vermonts-tobacco-heritage-explored-new-book#stream/0)} ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/16 "2016-05-09T13:36:37Z")
I’d vote for utility, too: pump house or electrical station (with the pipes there making pump house a little more likely). Though typically a pump house will have a reasonably obvious door: someone needs to go in several times a week to inspect it, and usually you’ll want a way to get a very heavy pump in and out on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/17 "2016-05-09T13:43:13Z")
The Victorians did it in a somewhat grander style. [Abbey Mills Pumping Station - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Mills_Pumping_Station) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/18 "2016-05-09T15:53:03Z")
Starbucks. They’re everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/19 "2016-05-09T17:54:33Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Kind of look like storage shacks for highway crews. I’d say not, because it look like they’re entirely surrounded by trees. Buildings for road crews would have the trees cleared on at least one side and a road all the way up to the entrance. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339/20 "2016-05-10T00:22:40Z")
Since there are no more phone booths, those are where Superman changes clothes now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-buildings-for/754339.md?page=2)