James Bruce Round Barn
James Bruce Round Barn | |
 | |
| Location | Florence Township Stephenson County, Illinois, USA |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Freeport |
| Area | >1 acre |
| Built | 1914 |
| Architectural style | Round barn |
| MPS | Round Barns in Illinois Thematic Resources |
| NRHP reference No. | 84001157 |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1984 |
History
The James Bruce Round Barn is one of 31 round barns found in a four county area that includes Winnebago County, Stephenson County and Rock and Green Counties in Wisconsin. Twenty one of those barns are within Stephenson County.[1] The Bruce Round Barn was constructed in 1914 for George Bruce by Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers.[2]
Design
The barn was designed by the team of Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers, Shaffer's five brother-in-laws. The Shaffer–Haas team built 12 of 13 round barns in the Stephenson–Winnebago County area that have had their carpentry positively attributed.[1]
The diameter of the James Bruce Round Barn is 58 feet 8 inches. Its exterior is clad in wooden siding, known as "drop siding," and it stands on a poured concrete foundation. The single hip roof is supported by a series of braces and topped with a cupola. The stave silo has a diameter of 12 feet and is accessed on the barn's northeast side via a banked entrance. Animals entered the barn at grade level on the south side of the building. Above the south and northeast entrances are overshoots which extend from the wall diagonally and were meant to compensate for the building's lack of overall storm protection.[2]
The single hip roof design represents the evolution of round barn construction in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Furthermore, the inclusion of a central wooden silo on the Bruce Barn may represent the cumulative influence from Agricultural Experiment Stations at the Universities of Illinois and Wisconsin.[2] Two of the three round barns designed for the University of Illinois experiment station feature the central silo.[3]
Significance
The Bruce Round Barn is the last known round barn constructed by the team of Shaffer and the Haas Brothers.[2] The design of the Bruce Barn is important in the evolution of general round barn design. The single hip roof construction, complete with a series of internal rafter braces for extra support are the result of the inability of some carpenters to complete the self-supporting roofs that round barns typically utilized.[2] The Haas Brothers and Shaffer came up with two novel solutions to this problem.[1] The first was to construct a conical roof, the second, which is exemplified in the Bruce Round Barn, was to construct a single hip roof. The style was heavily influenced by the University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Sculle, Keith A. "Round Barns in Illinois Thematic Resources," (PDF) National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 9 January 1984, National Register Information System, National Park Service. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Sculle, Keith A. "James Bruce Round Barn," National Register of Historic Places Individual Property Form: Multiple Property Submission, October 1983, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
- ^ Burlinson, Audra and Lang-Kummer, Karen. "University of Illinois Experimental Dairy Farm Historic District," National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, (PDF), , HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, pp. 7, 10. Retrieved 14 September 2007.