Author: iowabarnbook

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.

What an idea! This grain bin art is found in Carroll County in the heart of the farming community of Coon Rapids. Owned by Todd and Charlotte Heck and painted by Mark Bauer of Bauer Painting, the bins were dedicated October 22, 2022.

The project, “Naturally Iowa Grain Bin Gateway”, began in 2018 when Coon Rapids was looking for an idea of large scale art to revitalize the downtown. After deciding on the grain bins they raised over $77,000 and it became the art project of the year.

Here are three views of this historic project. The bin on the left with the town name and Naturally Iowa includes two persons canoeing on the Middle Raccoon River among the cattails. 

The bin on the right has a family on bicycles followed by their dog. It is a bright sunny day as seen in the next photo, where the rest of the family and the dog can be seen.

The third photo features a mother and daughter dancing, a flock of geese, a windmill, and a father, the children, and their dog with a telescope to study the stars. 

Each bin, which contains corn or beans, is 40 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter, and is located at Highway Street and Sixth Avenue. They are situated along a branch of the BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) Railroad that passes through the city. What an outstanding project to enhance the image of the city as well as the area. (2024 photos)

Harrisdale barn, built in the summer of 1920, was a Gordon-Van Tine Company “kit” of pre-cut lumber shipped by rail from the Davenport company. It was actually the Harris’ family home during the summer of 1921, when their old house was torn down and the current house was built. Raymond Harris, Ardyth Harris Gillespie’s grandfather, hired help for much of the farm work while he served as “general contractor” for building the house. The home is as lovely as this brilliant reddish-orange roofed barn is today on this Heritage farm (150+ years in the same family). (2024 photo)

Today the barn is used for storing hay, straw, feed, and farm supplies. In the spring it also houses a flock of 15 Katahdin ewes and two rams. Currently there are 24 lambs (See 2024 photo below). Katahdin hair sheep, developed in the 1950s, are raised chiefly for meat. They grow a short, thick, coarse overcoat of hair for winter, which they then shed in the spring, leaving a softer, short coat of hair, as opposed to sheep breeds that have wool coats requiring yearly shearing. 

People driving by on a gravel road in Chickasaw County can admire this arched-roof barn that was saved and restored by owner Adolph Havlik, a farmer in north-central Iowa, at 1745 Cheyenne Ave., Ionia.

It was built in 1912 as a dairy barn by Adolph’s late wife’s grandfather, Nicholas Hugeback, and later was used for beef cattle. In 1953 it was damaged by a tornado and restored. Later, the foundation was replaced with glacier-deposited stones found in the area. Gray steel siding was installed in 2007, as well as a steel roof in 2021.

It serves as an example of the high regard farmers have for the barns built and used by their ancestors. (2022 photo)