Minnesota BarnsJuly 2012

This is what remains of the Foner barn northeast of Glenwood, which fell last winter. Mark Foner, 4th generation farmer, is of German descent and his family came from Wisconsin. They rescued the Minneapolis-Moline from under the barn roof, but the grain dryer is still buried. Mark said the barn was built in 1910 before the house – their family stayed with neighbors during construction. The Foners considered renovation, but the cost of 70, 000 to 80,000 was more than they could handle.

The Foners milked 32 cows, and the calendar hanging on the wall indicates the last time they milked – June 1992.

In February 2010, Dale Travis visited the Foney farm. You can see their barn (still standing) on his website: www.dalejtravis.com

Yvonne Dean and her family have lived on this farm for sixteen years, and she provided the barn pictures from 2009. The wood for the roof was soaked in a pond just down the hill so that it could be shaped for the circular structure.

Yvonne was fortunate to discover additional artifacts in her attic that belonged to the original owner/builder of the barn. These artifacts date back to the late 1800’s.

These pictures are taken from the ground level of the barn, and Yvonne reports that it is 40 feet from the floor to the center of the roof. She and her family also researched the cost of renovation, but could not afford it.

As a side note, when farming slowed down and this farm was rented out, the renters kept chickens in the second story of the house, and Yvonne states that there are tree trunks instead of wooden beams in the basement that still support their home to this day.

Bruce Wussow is a second generation farmer and his family has been on this farm since 1940. Originally built by Emil Brueske, the barn has been shingled twice and tin has been put on the walls to protect against further deterioration of the wooden walls. The Wussows milked up to 65 cows in this barn.

Note that the house has also endured the test of time – it was built in 1900.

Another round barn northwest of Appleton. Built in 1943

This round barn is located northeast of Kandiyohi

A 16-sided barn, located north of Brandon.

A 14-sided barn, located southwest of Holdingford. Built circa 1912.

A round barn, located east of Audubon. Built in 1923

Another round barn, located north of Lake Park. Built in 1916

Artistic Expression on the foundation of this

barn.

The Chan (pronounced Conn) barn was built in 1918. During the week, the Chan’s milked cows,

and on Sundays they held dances in an effort to make

money during the depression. Tickets were

25¢ each. The dances were held April through

October from 1935 to 1941 when the U.S. entered

WWII

More barns – varied architecture

This farm can be seen from a long way off, and has become well-known because of its color. Located in

Brownton, the barn was built in 1903 and has been pink since 1904. This was no accident either. The original pink paint was specifically ordered

from the Nimitz Paint Factory in Hutchinson

Repurposed barns – now functional living

quarters

Repurposed barns – this barn was

transformed into a quaint antique store and is located south

of Hawley on 90th Ave.

Notes/Acknowledgements:

All of the round/multi-sided barns photographed in this slideshow can be found on www.dalejtravis.com when Mr. Davis visited these farms in the past. Our thanks to Mr.

Davis for helping inspire this MN Barn Trip by providing detailed information on his website.

We would also like to thank all those folks who extended the kindest courtesies to us when we visited. Your stories and historic information was much appreciated. And for

those folks who were not home when we stopped by – perhaps next time!

Two barns we searched for were no longer standing – pieces of history gone, but not forgotten…