James Bruce Round Barn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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James Bruce Round Barn
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | Florence Township Stephenson County, Illinois |
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| Nearest city | Freeport |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1914 |
| Architect | Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers |
| Architectural style | Round barn |
| MPS | Round Barns in Illinois TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 84001157 |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1984 |
The James Bruce Round Barn is a special type of farm building called a round barn. It is located near Freeport, in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. This unique barn was built in 1914. It was designed by Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers. This team built many round barns in the area. The James Bruce Round Barn was the last one they designed. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1984. This means it is an important historical building.
History of the Barn
The James Bruce Round Barn is one of many round barns in this part of the country. There are 31 round barns in a four-county area. This includes Winnebago and Stephenson Counties in Illinois. It also includes Rock and Green Counties in Wisconsin. Twenty-one of these barns are in Stephenson County alone. The James Bruce Round Barn was built for James Bruce in 1914. It was built by Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers.
How the Barn Was Designed
The James Bruce Round Barn was designed by Jeremiah Shaffer and his five brothers-in-law, the Haas Brothers. This team was known for building many round barns. They built 12 out of 13 round barns in the Stephenson–Winnebago County area. We know for sure that they were the carpenters for these barns.
The barn is about 58 feet 8 inches (about 17.7 meters) wide. Its outside walls are made of wood siding. It sits on a strong concrete base. The roof is a single hip roof style. This means it slopes inward from all sides. A cupola sits on top of the roof. This is a small dome-like structure. Inside, there is a tall, round silo for storing grain. It is 12 feet (3.7 meters) wide. You can get into the silo from the barn's northeast side. Animals could enter the barn from the south side.
Round barns were very useful before modern farm machines. Farmers could feed their livestock easily. They would walk around the barn once. Hay was stored in the loft above the animals. Grain was in the central silo. Cleaning out manure was also simpler. It could be done in one trip around the barn. This saved a lot of work. But as new machines came along, round barns became less common.
Why This Barn is Important
The James Bruce Round Barn is special because it was the last one built by the Shaffer and Haas Brothers team. Its design also shows how round barns changed over time. Some carpenters found it hard to build the usual self-supporting roofs for round barns. So, the Haas Brothers and Shaffer found new ways to build them. One way was to build a conical roof. Another way was to build a single hip roof, like the one on the Bruce Round Barn. The Agricultural Experiment Stations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wisconsin–Madison helped influence these designs.
The James Bruce Round Barn was officially listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1984. This listing helps protect important historical places.
Images for kids
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The Bruce Round Barn features a single hip roof and a wooden central silo.
