This German immigrant had big ideas. The three-story Pottawattamie barn, designed by Detlef David Guttau, was built in 1890. It’s like a three-story house except it’s a barn. Note the multiple windows on all three levels. The top level was for hay, with a hay door on the east side. The second level had stalls for 16 horses and space for carriages. The ground level had six stanchions for dairy cattle and later used until 2012 for beef cattle.
It was featured in Blog #61 (11/13/22) but an update will emphasize its continuing importance in the history of Iowa barns. It was first re-painted in 1946, again in 2000, and lastly in 2025. The most recent paint job makes it look as if it was just built yesterday. All that is missing now are horses and cattle.
The Cedar-shingle roof on the south side, visible here was replaced in 1955, sixty-five years after it was built, and the north side replaced with a metal roof in 1980. Concrete blocks replaced the original limestone foundation in the 1980s and other major repairs were made in the early 2000s.
The barn for hogs, above, built in 1927, was in use until 1989 for 30 sows bred twice a year, with a maximum of 1400 hogs sometimes in both barns. Both the barn and hog house are used today for storage and as homes for their resident cats.
The fourth generation Guttau family, Gary, his wife Dee (deceased January 27, 2026) and son Chad live here at 31082 Dogwood Rd., Treynor. The farm will be honored by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation as a Heritage Farm (150 years in the same family ownership) in 2027. The Guttau barns live on as outstanding examples of Iowa’s farming heritage.