Author: iowabarnbook

Cribs come in varying sizes, shapes, and features. This unique crib, built in 1947, was developed by the Iowa State University Agricultural Engineering Department for corn and oats. Originally, there was storage of 5,000 bushels of ear corn on the two sides of the drive-through. However, in the 1950s, when harvesting ear corn ended, it was adapted to store 10,500 bushels of shelled corn. Oat bins were on the upper half and there was a walkway above the center to access the oat bins on both sides.

Today corn is stored in steel bins or the excess outside in cone-shaped piles covered with tarp. Maybe (?) there were a number of cribs in earlier days used for both corn and oats. This crib is the only one I have researched extensively because very few of this type still exist, and most that do exist are in very poor condition. This one is in good condition, although not in use.

What happens to oats grown today? In 2024 210,000 acres of oats were planted in Iowa, a small fraction of the total of corn and other crops. When horses were used in farming, draft horses ate oats, with some fed to other animals, but horses and the oats produced dwindled over the years. Interestingly enough, in 2023, Iowa was #2 oats producer in the nation (some years it has been #5), with various companies today buying oats for cereal, granola bars, cookies, and more, as well as providing oats for sows and other livestock. The Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, the largest cereal production plant in the world, does not buy oats from Iowa farmers, but from Canadian farmers because the test weight of Canadian oats is much higher.

The farm where this crib exists was purchased by Ole Johnson who emigrated from Denmark to Wisconsin, then to this farm via covered wagon to Grundy County in 1857. It is a Heritage Farm (150 years in the same family) now owned by Tricia Johnson, a great-great-granddaughter of Ole. The location is southwest of Cedar Falls and east of Dike at 13725 X Ave., Cedar Falls. A future blog will describe some of the unusual features both inside and outside, as well as the technique used to transfer grain to the upper area for storage.

This limestone barn south of Decorah at 2091 Middle Ossian Road in Winneshiek County is home for Yorkshire hogs on the basement level and storage for straw and hay on the upper level. These hogs can’t appreciate the great barn that is their home but they know it’s a shelter and a place where they can get food any time of day.

Built in the mid-1860s, it was originally a dairy barn but has been used for hogs since Wayne and Roxanne Huinker bought the farm in 1980. There are about 150 sows and around 1000 pigs in this complex. Adjacent buildings, not shown here, are also used for housing.

They have breeding stock, feeder pigs, and more, and sell to buyers in many states. When about 90 pigs weigh 50 pounds each he personally transports them to California each January to a high school Ag chapter where students raise them to show at their county fair in May. The new owners hope for prize-winners.

Many limestone barns still exist in Iowa, many in the northeast quarter. The walls in this barn are three feet thick at the base, narrowing to eighteen inches at the top. Several arched windows and doors are also visible. It’s Iowa’s hog heaven.

Forty-five years ago in January 1980 I took the photo of this barn and trees coated with rime ice located along Highway 34 west of Kent near the Union County-Adams County border. Abandoned for many years, it was torn down several months after this photo was taken. Another view of this scene can be found on page 245 of Iowa Barns Yesterday and Today.

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)