Round barns in Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Round Barns in Illinois TR
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This architectural drawing is of one of three University of Illinois round barns.
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| Location | Illinois, USA |
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| Architectural style | Round barns |
| MPS | MPL001 – Round Barns in Illinois Thematic Resources |
| NRHP reference No. | 64000152,1982: 82000401, 82002536, 82002582, 82002586. 1983: 83000326. 1984: 84001150, 84001152, 84001155, 84001157, 84001164. 1992: 92001017. 1994: 94000030. 2003: 02000750. |
| Added to NRHP | August 26, 1982; December 7, 1982; 1983; February 23, 1984; 1992; 1994; 2003. |
Have you ever seen a round barn? In Illinois, there's a special list of these unique buildings called the Round Barns in Illinois Thematic Resources. This list is part of the National Register of Historic Places, which is like a hall of fame for important historical places in the United States.
This list includes 18 amazing round barns found all over Illinois. Many barns were added to the list in 1982 and 1984. Later, more barns were added in 1983, 1992, and 2003. In 1994, a group of three round barns at the University of Illinois was also added. You'll find the most round barns on this list in Stephenson County, Illinois. Five of these barns were added to the National Register on February 23, 1984.
Contents
Illinois' Round Barns
The list of historic round barns in Illinois includes 18 different buildings. Each one has its own story!
First Barns Listed
In 1982, seven round barns were added to the National Register for the first time as part of this special list. Before that, only one other round barn in Illinois, the Ryan Round Barn in Henry County, Illinois, was on the Register.
Sadly, three of the barns added in 1982 are no longer on the list. This usually happens if a building is torn down or destroyed. These were the John McCarthy Round Barn, the Clyde Leek Round Barn, and the Clarence Forehand Round Barn. The other barns added in 1982 were the Raymond Schulz Round Barn, Virginia Tillery Round Barn, Clarence Kleinkopf Round Barn, and the Ron George Round Barn in Will County, Illinois.
There was also a barn called the Willard White Round Barn in DeKalb County, Illinois that was considered for the list. However, its owner didn't want it to be listed, so it was not added.
Lewis Round Barn
The Lewis Round Barn is located in Mendon, Illinois. This barn is special because it was moved and fixed up! It was the most recent barn to be added to the list in 2003.
Stephenson County's Many Barns
In 1984, Stephenson County, Illinois had more round barns than any other county in the United States! Out of 31 round barns built in that area, 21 were right there in Stephenson County. The other ten were in nearby counties in Illinois and Wisconsin.
This number of barns in Stephenson County was more than the 18 round barns in Vernon County, Wisconsin, and the 12 in Fulton County, Indiana. In January 1984, seven round barns from the Stephenson County area were considered for the list. Six of them were added to the National Register. As of 2007, five of these six barns are still on the list. They are the Dennis Otte Round Barn, the Gerald Harbach Round Barn, James Bruce Round Barn, Chris Jensen Round Barn, and the Charles Fehr Round Barn. The Robert Weber Round Barn is in nearby Winnebago County.
Robert Buckles Barn
The Buckles Round Barn is located in Logan County, Illinois, near Mount Pulaski, Illinois. It was added to the National Register in 1983. This barn was built in 1917. Its roof was damaged by a tornado in 1927 and stayed that way for a long time. But in 1982, it was repaired and restored, which cost about $30,000!
University of Illinois Barns
The University of Illinois Experimental Dairy Farm Historic District includes three amazing round barns. These barns were built between 1908 and 1912. They are simply called Barn #1, Barn #2, and Building #857. Even though Building #857 is a round barn, it also has a rectangular brick section attached to its main round part. These barns were part of the 1994 National Register listing.
Wheeler-Magnus Round Barn
The Wheeler-Magnus Round Barn is the only round barn on the National Register located in Cook County, Illinois. This barn was added to the list in 1992.
Why Round Barns Are Important
Illinois played a big role in making round barns popular! The Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Illinois helped farmers learn about and build these unique barns. The three round barns at the university influenced many people in Illinois and other Midwestern states to build their own round barns. For example, the owner of the Raymond Schulz Round Barn built his barn specifically because he had seen the round barns at the university.
Round barns were the last of five main types of American barns built by carpenters. The others were the Dutch, English, connected, and Pennsylvania barns. Round barns show how science started to be used more in farming.
