Author: iowabarnbook

What do you call these functional things on top of barns? Cupolas or ventilators? Either one will do and they are often used synonymously.

In early days a cupola was the “icing on the cake,” located at the top of the most important building on the farm. They were originally made of wood and were square, round, or multisided, designed with the purpose of allowing heat and moisture to escape.

What about ventilators? The Louden Machinery Company in Fairfield, Iowa wanted to capitalize on the cupola concept. They claimed that wooden cupolas wouldn’t last forever, but their new metal ventilators were superior. They were advertised as being storm proof, bird proof, and meant to last a lifetime. 

They called their Louden metal ventilator a cupola. What an idea! Marketing is everything! Often these ventilators included artistic designs stamped in the metal and incorporated a weather vane topped with a horse, cow, or pig. Here are a few examples of cupolas and ventilators. Besides serving a useful function, they add character and interest to barns.

Welcome to Business Corner! This sign, erected in 2017 at the intersection of Osceola county roads M-18 and A-34, lists businesses in this area beginning in the late 1880s (not 1870s as the sign suggests). There was a gas station, but not until the late 1920s since the 1870s was before the existence of cars. There also was no general store or broom factory in early Business Corner days.

In the mid-1880s a number of Mennonite families arrived in Ocheyedan by train from Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, Canada. They moved to this area of the county, bought land, and built barns and homes. The village closest to Business Corner is May City, established in 1889.

Daniel and Fannie Weaver were among the first to arrive, building the historic barn seen in the background in 1889. The business sign says “Weaver Jeweler,” although Daniel was actually an optometrist who also made jewelry, clocks, and watches.

A blacksmith, shoemaker, wagon shop, harness shop, and cigar factory, as well as a church, school, and cemetery existed during the time the Mennonites lived in the area. All the buildings were painted red.

The colony was short-lived, due to disagreements over church affairs and differing customs they had when they arrived. By 1915 all but a few of the families had left the area. Today there are no Mennonites, except those buried in the Mennonite cemetery. 

Today this landmark barn, owned and restored by the Lorch family, serves as a reminder of early settlement.

Another barn destroyed by fire. This barn, south of Hubbard, was built in 1917 with “Jefferson Highway Farm” painted on the side. The Jefferson Highway went past the barn, although the route varied when the U.S. highway naming system began in 1926. In Hardin and Story counties it followed what is now Highway 65. It was promoted as the “Pine to Palm” route and was the first north-south transcontinental highway in America, extending from Winnipeg, Canada to New Orleans.

The town of Hubbard was tentatively making plans to move the barn into the town and restore it, but early in the morning of March 13, 2019, it is believed to have been struck by lightning.

Many remembrances of the original Jefferson Highway can be found on paintings and markers in towns all along the route. There are murals on two buildings in Decatur county, one in Leon and one in Lamoni, as both towns were on this highway. Below is the Lamoni mural.