In 1915 Frank Hanson, a local farmer, built this unique
round barn for auctioning and farrowing hogs.
It has been in the Barelman family for three generations, with Ward and
Laura Barelman, the current owners. Round
barn construction was the innovative technology of the day, with its proponents
claiming building material costs to be much less than that of a rectangular
building. Some also claimed the
design to be “cyclone proof” after one stood alone, surviving a tornado that
leveled every other building on a farm. The
main level has wedge shaped pens surrounding the circumference.
In the middle stands a ventilation shaft rising through the ceiling to
the metal cupola on the top.
Above the front pediment entrance, there is a loft,
which held grain. The conical
shaped roof boasts several windows for light and ventilation. Circling the inside there is a metal ring, which was used as
a manure and feed trolley. The
siding is vertical tongue and groove wood planks, donning a fresh coat of red
paint, trimmed in white. The barn
is now in the process of being restored by the newly formed Wakefield Heritage
Organization. It is hoped to move
the barn into town for the use as a classroom or museum. Donations may be left in Nebraska State Bank, Wakefield.
(Logan Township, Section 20, Wayne County)