Unusual Round Barn

[Steve Shaw]

While driving from one town to another on a photo trip last fall
I saw this unusual round barn. Within a short distance I turned
around and went back. Lucky for me the caretaker was home
and nice enough to let me take pictures.

I have design and built an N scale model of it. With no way to
measure I based sizes from building features, concrete blocks,
doors, windows etc and in doing so some parts are proportionally
incorrect.

The barn is located in Fulton county Indiana.

 

[Zathros]

Wow, that is really beautiful! You did a great job on this. A lot of "N" scaler's here recently, that cold be a hit if you are offering it up. It is just so unusual, I don't think I have ever seen anything like that! Thanks for the pictures. America, gotta love her!

We have some pretty strange octagonal houses in New England, and incredible barns, I've yet to see one like this though.

 

[Vince]

We have a round barn near me in Northern Indiana. If I recall, it was moved from a farm to it's present site, a tourist attraction called Amish Acres. The round barn was converted to a stage theater in the round auditorium and now the Round Barn Theatre show plays about Amish life and classical musicals like Cinderella and Hello Dolly, etc.
It's said the Amish used to like round barns because the devil couldn't hide in a corner, since there aren't any corners!

 

[Vermin_King]

We had a round barn theater outside Kansas City that burned due to an electrical/lighting issue, if I remember correctly.

My Mennonite friends say that round barns were perfectly in tune to using ox-power (you know, going around in circles, turning an axle that was geared to equipment) and that since Mennonites don't have prohibitions against machinery, they don't build that way any more. Round barns also have less surface area per volume (hold more with less lumber). So it may not be the urban legend/derogatory-joke-at-the-expense-of-the-Amish reason, as much as efficiency.

And that is an excellent model of a round barn. I have seen skirts on round barns, but never one that extended that far around. Very nicely done.

 

[Vince]

well, your explanation certainly makes sense! Although, the Amish were a superstitious lot, hex signs on their barns, etc. I don't think the 21st century Amish have as many hangups though.

 

[Zathros]

It would have made a great Velodrome, especially if it had a raised track inside!

 

[Patron_zero]

There are a few wonderful books on round barns available, oddly most structures of that style, originally 226 with 110 surviving, were once found in Indiana. I highly recommend the book below for it's high quality photographs.