This is a presentation on a visit through parts of Minnesota to see all sorts of barns, particularly round barns. It provides a taste of history through pictures.

1. Minnesota Barns
July 2012

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Another round barn northwest of
Appleton. Built in 1943

8. This round barn is located northeast
of Kandiyohi

9. A 16-sided barn, located north of
Brandon.

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

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

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

13. 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
Artistic Expression
on the foundation of
this barn.

14. More barns – varied
architecture

15. 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

16. Repurposed barns –
now functional living
quarters

17. Repurposed barns –
this barn was
transformed into a
quaint antique store
and is located south
of Hawley on 90th
Ave.

18. 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…