Author: iowabarnbook

This foursome was found in an Omaha hospital gift shop and took up residence in our house. Modeled after the town musicians of Bremen, Germany, these animals, common on the farm, work for a living. They provide humor, happiness, and honor where they live, and thrive in the world outdoors. 

The regal rooster on the top commands the show, crowing loudly, making sure that this quartet on the farm gets royal treatment and care from all who know them. The cow and the pig are dressed alike. Could they be related? They have different ideas of how to spend their day. One grazes in a field while the other roots in the mud, until cleaned up to pose here. The woolly sheep is dressed for winter, and three of the four are wearing a wreath of greenery with red berries in honor of the holiday. May these four, posing here and looking quite noble, wish you a very Merry Christmas.

A round barn was an exciting new idea for Scott County farmer Charles Nebergall. He discovered an architect named Benton Steele, who had built dozens of round barns in Indiana and Kansas, and hired him to design and construct this barn in 1914. It is 56 feet in diameter and features clay tile with square windows on the bottom half, board-and-batten siding with rectangular windows on the upper half, and a two-pitched conical roof with a cupola. It has no silo.

Originally a central drive divided the interior between the horse stalls and cattle stanchions, with grain bins and feed areas for the animals  on each side of the central drive, as well as separate hay chutes. It was owned by the Nebergall family until 1992, is now owned by the John Penne family, and is filled with antiques on two levels. The location is 9478 145th St., Davenport.

                  Let us be thankful for all good things yesterday and today. 

I enjoy sharing my adventures and photos with all of you who have an interest in barns and more. This scene was Blog #36 sent November 2021 and I wish to share it again with you in 2024. The photo was taken of an Amish farmer’s field in Clarke County along Highway 34 west of Murray. (2012 photo)

The 2024 harvest season is about finished, but over 100 years ago steam tractors like this one were used to take a threshing machine and a water wagon to the field to do the threshing. The tractor moved slowly but speed was not important, as it was not powerful enough for fieldwork.

Over 18,000 of these steam machines were manufactured by Russell and Company in Massillon, Ohio, circa 1880 to 1920. This company also made 22,000 threshing machines, portable sawmills, road rollers and other equipment. This 1912 Russell steam tractor was No.14897 and is featured at the annual September Carstens Farm Days and driven in the tractor parade during the two-day event. It is permanently based at the Carstens Farm, about one-mile southwest of the Shelby exit of I-80.

Today only a few steam tractors still exist. Due to the difficulty to maintain them because of the buildup of grease and oil, their life expectancy was about five years. They used lump coal or wood, and expertise was necessary to operate these machines safely. A number of accidents over the years have occurred due to improper procedures. 

Carl Ball picked a scenic view in Clayton County when he built this round barn having a gambrel-shaped roof with angled sections. Carl, along with his brother William, built it sometime before Carl died in 1919 at age 45. Descendants of the Balls are excited that the Burrs are interested in preserving this unusual round barn.

Owned by Jim and Raynelle Burr since 1982, it is located at 30648 Garber Road, Guttenberg. Originally it had wooden board and batten siding, but now steel board and batten siding. The look is the same but steel will prolong the life for many years. A steel roof will be installed in the near future. In recent years it was leaning so several cables were attached for stability.

In the basement level there were horse stalls on one side and stalls for the dairy cattle on the other side, with a manger below the loft opening to receive hay. No silo. Doors to the loft and exit doors on the basement level fit the design of the hillside where it was built. (2024 photo)

One of a kind: a 14-sided barn. New in 1910 and “new” again in 2024, it is the only 14-sided barn in existence in Iowa today. With board and batten siding, a metal roof and a tiny cupola, it overlooks a wooded area in Clayton County, with a clear view of the countryside as the barn’s name implies. Inside is a clay tile silo with an opening on the basement level.  The only thing left of the original barn is the fact that it had 14 sides. 

Originally, it was a dairy barn with 13 stanchions. Now it is a restored treasure of the dwindling number of round and multi-sided Iowa barns. After the wood dries for several years the owners plan to paint it. Stay tuned for a view of it in full color and the plans they have for using it. The address is 25515 Basswood Avenue, Volga. (2024 photo)

Standing tall and sturdy, the Koschmeder silo in Bremer County at 2513 220^th St., Readlyn, has stood the test of time. Constructed in 1939 by the Independent Silo Company in St. Paul, Minnesota, the company guaranteed its durability and resistance to frost. The inside walls were of California redwood, followed by a thick waterproof “silafelt” layer, and then a cedar outer layer with tongue and groove construction to fit the curve of the silo. After being used for silage for many years, the lower sections were later used for shelled corn, and at that time metal bands were added to strengthen the walls.

The family of Leslie Koschmeder, John, Leslie, and Irwin are the proud owners of the silo that was in use until the mid-1980s. In 2022 the silo received a new metal roof as well as coats of paint. The barn pictured below was built sometime between 1912 and 1939. (2024 photos)

The Hardin County Farm Museum, founded in 1996, located at 203 N. Washington St., Eldora,  is one of many Iowa living history museums. On this 20-acre site is a dairy barn, a country schoolhouse, a country church, and a machine shed of farm equipment. The museum focuses on the period 1890 through 1950, with related farm equipment, agricultural practices, and the farm families during this time period. Founded in 1996, it is open the first Saturday of the month, April to October, from 7 am to 3 pm.

The barn, built between 1935 and 1940, was later used for hogs, chickens, and as a shelter for cats and dogs.

All are welcome to the pancake breakfast from 7-9:30 am on Saturday, September 7, 2024. Pancake breakfasts are held on the first Saturday of May, June, July, September, and October. The last event of 2024 will be a soup supper and barn dance, with live country music, on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

Pioneers heading across the Iowa prairies in the mid-1800s before roads existed might have looked for this plant called a compass plant that has leaves oriented in a north-south axis. Somehow they became aware of this marvelous plant with yellow flowers and how it could guide them in their travels.

It is a member of the sunflower family that can grow 12-15 feet tall by late summer, with a taproot of 12-15 feet. Below is another view of this amazing perennial, which does not produce flowers until after the second or third year of growth.

If you need a lawnmower, maybe a couple Babydoll Southdown sheep would be just the thing you need. This breed, a miniature version of the Southdown breed of sheep that originated in Sussex County, England, is often used in orchards and vineyards because they don’t disturb trees or other vegetation, but instead eat weeds and unwanted grasses.

They are popular as pets and for 4-H projects, are 18 to 24 inches tall, and weigh between 60 and 125 pounds. To protect them from predators they must be kept in a barn or a predator-proof area at night.

These sheep live in the 1948 gambrel barn in the Hudson area of Blackhawk County, which is also the home for chickens and cats. Pictured below is the barn, owned by Kent and Diane Wolfe.