Print Size 24" x 36" (Frame Size 24" x 36") Architect: Kell & Benard with James M. White
In 1908-12 the University of Illinois erected three round barns in an experiment in agricultural efficiency, and in the process popularized the building type throughout the Midwest, especially Illinois. The development was spearheaded by Professor Wilbur J. Fraser who championed round barns as more efficient and economical than their rectangular counterparts. With a hay loft above, the ground floor of the 2-story building was dedicated to feeding and milking. Wedge-shaped stalls accommodating the narrow shoulders and wide hips of dairy cows were organized radially around the barn to lessen the distances cowhands had to walk. Feed from a central silo was pitch-forked easily into the manger at the head of each stall, while manure was collected in a gutter at the other end and emptied into a bin suspended from the roof and rotated from stall to stall. Designed and executed by architects Kell & Bernard with campus architect James White, round barns proved a successful advance in dairy farming, helping also to protect milk from contamination and, by virtue of their contour, better able to withstand seasonal windstorms.
