Innovations that didn’t last: eight-track tapes, the DeLorean, laserdiscs. In the 1880s to 1920s a innovative design that originally promised great results was the round barn.
There were many features that recommended round barns. They required less materials and so were cheaper to construct than similar-sized rectangular barns. Proponents advertised them as ‘cyclone-proof,’ considerably more stable against the Midwest’s frequent thunderstorms and tornadoes. The roofs were strong and self-supported and so freed up interior space from poles and beams. Many had central silos that aided in feeding livestock and meant less steps for the farmer.
Round barns were most popular in the Midwest. Indiana became the leader in construction with 219 round or polygonal barns constructed between 1874 and 1936. (Polygonal barns, usually eight- or twelve-sided are usually classified as round barns.)
As time went by the belief in the round barn’s advantages began to wane and disadvantages came to light. They were more complicated to build. It was hard to add an addition to or expand a round barn. Neither did a round barn lend itself to the storage of larger and larger farm equipment. After WWI farm prices plummeted and didn’t recover until after the Depression. For almost twenty years many farmers didn’t have the resources to build any farm buildings. When the economy improved, technology had changed and round barns were considered obsolete.
Probably only about seventy round barns still exist in Indiana. One of these is the Van Huys round barn in Boone County. Built in 1912 by Andrew B. Van Huys, it is the only surviving historic round barn in Indiana made of concrete block construction. It is fifty feet in diameter and enclosed 2000 square feet. It once had a cupola and a slate roof.
Another surviving round barn was built by Jay Seymour Clendenning in Clinton County. It was completed in 1912 and used as a dairy barn. The central silo allowed for easy distribution of grain to dairy cows facing the center of the barn from a circle of stalls. It is 66 feet in diameter and 70 feet high, one of the largest in the state.
Connection: Andrew B. Van Nuys was the 2nd cousin 1x removed of Mary Cook, my 1st cousin 5x removed.
Jay Seymour Clendenning was the husband of my 2nd cousin 4x removed. His wife was the great grand daughter of Daniel Page, my 5th great grandfather.
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