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crane to pick up the entire silo and lay it down on a flat bed truck trailer. Then a heavy duty farm tractor came in to pull the silo down the hill. As the tractor started up the hill the silo looked as if it were going to collapse inwardly so the tractor was stopped and the silo chained off to a tree overnight until the Amish carpenters could reinforce the silo's bracing. The next day the silo was slowly pulled over gravel country roads, the State of
Illinois would not permit the silo to travel over concrete State Highways, to its new site.
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280:, he was intrigued. The efficiency of the round barn's structure is what impressed Lewis, but he didn't need the university's barns - he needed a much larger barn. His mind began to build a vision of a barn that was much larger than any round barn built in the Midwest, at the time. He selected 40 acres (16 ha) of timbered land from the 160-acre (65 ha) Grove Place, a recent acquisition of his father's estate. The land was thick with large
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Two sets of old shingles were peeled from the roof. Chain saws hacked the roof into numerous pie-shaped pieces. The haymow and the outside walls were dismantled and moved to the new site. The barn was gone, only the silo remained standing, a solitary testament to history. The
Association contracted a
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awarded a $ 150,000 grant to assist in the moving and restoration of the Lewis Round Barn. The project faced much criticism, many thinking the Olde Tyme
Association had lost its marbles if it believed the nearly 100 year structure could be successfully moved. Regardless, the project steamed forward.
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At the new site the walls were re-erected. High winds threatened to derail the entire project when the walls were blown down before they could be stabilized, oddly echoing the very concerns that the workers on the original construction of the barn had voiced nearly a century earlier. When the walls
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The barn served Lewis' purpose for many years but time began to take its toll. In the late 50s or early 60s the weight of the cupola caused part of the roof start sagging. The cupola was removed and the hole was shingled over. Eventually the entire roof was reshingled and in the recent past five of
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without structural support, to save the outside walls of the building. The four-section rafters of the roof would be reinforced at each of the joints. The project began with the digging of ditches where concrete foundation footings were poured. The footings would support the outer, circular wall. A
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at the site were created, and the dome-shaped roof could be erected. The rafters were assembled on the mow floor, so the true challenge proved to be hefting them into place. Each of the rafters, 50 feet (15 m) in length, were made of heavy, hardwood lumber. The roof construction required the
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Lambert Huber, a prominent carpenter in the area, was hired as architect, engineer and building foreman. Though he had never built a round barn, he decided to undertake the project. Even with Huber hired, construction on the barn could not commence until 1914, when all the lumber had sufficiently
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One of Lewis' favorite horses, "Old Kit", came into play. With a series of ropes and pulleys, a boom pole and the horse the rafters were slowly lifted into place. Each rafter was raised and nailed into place on the barn's top ring. As three or four of the rafters were raised into place it became
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and a cable was installed around the outside of the barn to prevent further spreading of the building. It was then that the Lewis family decided if the barn was to survive the 21st century it would need continued care and maintenance. The family donated the barn to the Adams County Olde Tyme
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came down they took part of the first rafters with them and the project looked doomed. It was not, however, and the walls were re-erected, the project went forward. When the roof was finished off a replica cupola was installed on the top and the project was a total success.
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With the barn complete Huber remarked that he had lost many hours of sleep trying to figure out the many specification of the building as well as its numerous parts. Though he thought the barn a complete success he said he would never build another round barn.
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apparent that a high wind could take the partially completed roof structure down, workers hoped for no high winds. Their hopes were granted and no high winds arose until all of the rafters were raised the roof was complete. To top off the dome a
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at the site and hired several men to log the land with cross-cut saws and axes, while also working the logs into lumber and piling them to air dry. This occurred during the fall and continued well into the winter of 1911.
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and placed atop the scaffold. These additions dramatically increased efficiency but there were not enough workers to raise the massive beams. The problem of the raising of the rafters would be solved by an old horse.
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324:. Of all the wood required to construct the Lewis Round Barn, only the shingles and siding materials had to be purchased; the rest came from the property's woodland that was logged to create the barn site.
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The barn could be moved, the association proposed, moved 25 miles (40 km) away, to a site near the Adams County Fair
Grounds. The barn's importance was demonstrated when the
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building of a 46-foot (14 m) scaffold structure from the haymow floor up. A 10-foot (3.0 m) diameter laminated wooden, circular ring was built at a carpentry shop in
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staves that had been totally cleared of knots. The barn itself had siding of one inch by 12-inch (300 mm) white pine, and long, wooden shingles made from
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the Lewis brothers and a cousin held a working weekend to make repairs. A portion of the barn had to be jacked up and a major foundation
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A 40-foot (12 m) stave silo was constructed at the site, with an 18-foot (5.5 m) diameter. The silo was constructed out of
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The project itself was somewhat complicated, even for a round barn. The roof of the barn was to be an entirely self-supporting
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The plans got off the drawing board in early 2000 when a contract was awarded to a group of Amish carpenters and work began.
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247:. It is one of 14 round barns recognized by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The barn was listed on the
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When
Charles E. Lewis decided he needed a large barn for his large herd of cattle and hogs, he
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Once concrete pillars were poured, foundations of the 6 X 6 posts supporting the circular
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University and college buildings listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
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24-foot (7.3 m) diameter circle was laid out in order to accommodate the
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trees, as well as other native
Illinois tree species. Lewis built a portable
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Association. The association proposed a bold move for the historic site.
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had to be replaced with new concrete. Window openings were covered with
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List of jails and prisons on the
National Register of Historic Places
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National
Register of Historic Places in Adams County, Illinois
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Barns on the
National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
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roof was added with a lightning rod. At the very top a
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990:Buildings and structures in Adams County, Illinois
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954:National Register of Historic Places portal
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349:was added with a steer said to be covered in
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1000:Buildings and structures completed in 1914
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207:Round Barns in Illinois Thematic Resources
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502:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
35:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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313:feeding bunk around the silo.
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16:United States historic place
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922:Historic Preservation Fund
901:American Legation, Morocco
272:built around 1900 for the
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462:History of the Round Barn
213:NRHP reference
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844:Northern Mariana Islands
361:20th century renovations
192:Architectural style
995:Round barns in Illinois
266:thought outside the box
152:40.051806°N 91.272306°W
839:Minor Outlying Islands
822:Lists by insular areas
536:Keeper of the Register
278:University of Illinois
274:College of Agriculture
115:Adams County, Illinois
541:National Park Service
521:Contributing property
427:National Park Service
251:on January 29, 2003.
171:1 acre (0.40 ha)
157:40.051806; -91.272306
896:District of Columbia
464:, Adams County Fair.
76:Show map of Illinois
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460:Lewis, George J.
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237:Lewis Round Barn
229:January 29, 2003
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260:Construction
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143:91°16′20.3″W
121:Nearest city
889:Other areas
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683:Mississippi
598:Connecticut
318:Douglas fir
270:round barns
155: /
140:40°03′6.5″N
131:Coordinates
979:Categories
798:Washington
718:New Mexico
713:New Jersey
588:California
334:Camp Point
195:Round barn
808:Wisconsin
773:Tennessee
678:Minnesota
653:Louisiana
372:plexiglas
351:gold leaf
205:MPL001 -
184:Architect
964:Category
793:Virginia
743:Oklahoma
723:New York
698:Nebraska
688:Missouri
673:Michigan
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648:Kentucky
628:Illinois
603:Delaware
593:Colorado
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368:buttress
220:02001750
111:Location
910:Related
813:Wyoming
788:Vermont
693:Montana
633:Indiana
613:Georgia
608:Florida
578:Arizona
568:Alabama
297:cured.
290:sawmill
276:at the
255:History
748:Oregon
703:Nevada
643:Kansas
618:Hawaii
573:Alaska
509:Topics
343:cupola
329:haymow
311:silage
880:Palau
778:Texas
658:Maine
623:Idaho
400:Notes
176:Built
834:Guam
783:Utah
738:Ohio
638:Iowa
309:and
307:silo
302:dome
284:and
235:The
179:1914
168:Area
286:oak
282:elm
215:No.
201:MPS
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