The first time I heard the term bank barn was during a phone conversation with the chief of one of Berks County’s rural fire companies.

He had returned a page to discuss a fire from the previous night. It might have been bales of hay or straw that ignited.

I grew up near a dairy farm, and my siblings and I — along with the farm owners’ kids — used the barn’s loft like a jungle gym. It never occurred to me that this type of barn had a specific name.

Since I hadn’t been at the scene of the fire, I asked the chief to describe the barn.

“It was a traditional bank barn,” he said, explaining how the upper level opens to a slope, or bank, while the lower level opens to the pasture where the animals are kept.

So that’s what they call it, I thought. My mind instantly conjured the iconic image you see whenever you pass a traditional Pennsylvania farm.

Now you can have that image on your license plate.

PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission announced Thursday that the newly designed “Preserve Our Heritage” special fund plate — featuring the Pennsylvania bank barn — is available for purchase.

I’d always appreciated the utilitarian design of these barns, but I didn’t realize they were, as the press release put it, “a distinct and defining feature of the American rural landscape.”

Originating in the early 18th century, the design is celebrated for its ingenious integration of architecture and topography, according to the release.

My boss at a former job was involved in a local historical society. He jokingly referred to the group as “hysterical society”— because, I suppose, they are exuberant to the point of zeal about history.

The more I read the release, though, the more I can see what all the fuss is about.

“For centuries, the iconic stone foundations and cantilevered forebays of the Pennsylvania Bank Barn have stood as steadfast symbols of our state’s deep agricultural roots,” Andrea Lowery, the commission’s executive director, said in the release. “These structures were built to last, perfectly integrated into the hillsides of our commonwealth.”

Placing this historic cornerstone on a license plate is, indeed, a way for Pennsylvanians to carry a piece of shared history with them, she added.

The special fund plate is available for cars or trucks with a registered gross weight of 14,000 pounds or less. Each plate costs $64, with $23 supporting the Historical and Museum Commission’s education and exhibit programs.

Pennsylvanians interested in ordering the plate can complete the MV‑911 form, “Application for Special Fund Registration Plate.” A full list of available special fund plates is on PennDOT’s website.