Text and Photos
By Rod King
Guest Columnist
FULTON COUNTY — If they haven’t already been included in the list of endangered species, round barns should be. Their numbers are getting smaller and smaller because of decay, weather, maintenance expenses and rising taxes.
Back in the middle of the 20th Century, there were more than 440 round and/or polygonal barns throughout the United States. Today, there are less than 100.
Fulton County had more of them (17) than any other county. In fact, it was known as the “Round Barn Capital of the World” until 1971, when it was discovered that a Wisconsin county had 20. They deferred to Fulton County, so it still holds the title and is still the place to see these magnificent structures. There are only eight left.
The best place is the Round Barn Museum, run by the Fulton County Historical Society, located on US 31, just four miles north of Rochester.
The museum’s barn, which was originally on a dairy farm, has a diameter of 60 feet and is 65 feet tall. The main floor served as storage for hay, straw and grain and now houses a variety of 1900s farm implements. Light filtering through the cupola windows gives the structural members a sort of artsy, geometrical appearance.
Cows were fed and milked in the lower level. All the stalls face inward, making feeding more efficient, saving farmers lots of steps. Purdue University declared in the early 1900s that round barns were economical.
First, their capacity is larger than rectangular barns. They’re faster, easier and cheaper to construct than a post-and-beam barn because they utilize one-inch lumber instead of one-foot-thick beams, and nails could be used instead of pegs.
This particular barn was built in 1924, with the last owner, Mr. Paxton, donating it to the Historical Society after a tornado ripped most of the roof off. It was moved to its present site and restored in 1990-91 for $65,000.
Some theories give the English credit for developing round/polygonal barns to protect horses walking in a circle to produce power to operate mills. The earliest one in this country belonged to our first president, George Washington. He had a 16-sided barn built in 1792 on his farm near Mount Vernon. It was torn down in 1870. A replica was erected in 1995-1996.
Shakers built the first true round barn in this country in Massachusetts in 1824. They preferred round barns because there were no corners for evil spirits to hide in. The height of the round-barn building boom was in 1910.
The first round barn to be built in the Hoosier state was in 1874 and the last one went up in 1936.
In addition to the round barn, the Historical Society has a large collection of historical memorabilia from the early 1900s and a living history village called Loyal, which existed a few miles away. It was originally known as Germany, but the name was changed to Loyal during World War I. It features structures built between 1900 and 1925.
There is no admission fee to visit the Round Barn Museum, 37 E. CR 375N, Rochester. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The museum is just four miles north of Rochester on US 31.
For more information, visit fultoncountyhistory.org or call (574) 223-4436.
