an old round barn

an old round barn

with diamond windows commands

a windswept prairie hill

This beautiful round barn sits in open farmland miles from Salem, Iowa, the nearest small town. Commanding a windswept prairie hill, the barn looks like a copper fortress studded with diamond-shaped windows and topped with a silver silo projecting through the roof. It is in such good condition that it's hard to believe it was probably built in the early 1900s, during the heyday of circular barns. 
          This barn seems to be a well-preserved example of a type of round barn construction found mainly in Iowa, built with hollow clay tiles. It may be one of sixteen barns believed to have been built by the Johnston Brothers Clay Works of Fort Dodge in 1915. In Iowa's prairie region there were few trees but lots of high-quality clay. Manufacturers developed a hollow clay tile that became extremely popular for building silos. Soon after, the construction of round, hollow tile "silo" barns took hold.
          The  era of round barns came to an end with the advent of mechanized agriculture, which was more suited to the rectangular barn design. It's good that this old barn has been maintained with such care. Its longevity and elegant design makes it a true gem of the prairie.