The barn was built by my grandfather Robert A. Bethel.
The bricks were shipped by rail from Illinois. My grandfather used the help of two German WW I prisoners. They also helped build the house. It was built out of the same brick. My father said that you could drive a team of horses from the first floor all the way up to the top of the barn to fill the silo.
In later year someone had taken the top story off and attempted to put a peak roof on. It is sad to say that sometime in the late fall of 2002 the new landowner pushed the barn into the old silage pit. |
|
Article from an old book:
The Bob Bethel family lived here for many years. Mrs. Dale Alden, who was formerly Mrs. M.L. Russell, writes the history of the barn.
“We bought the farm from Bob Bethel in the 1940s. The round barn was built by Bob Bethel in 1919. It is located 1 ½ miles northeast of Kingston, MO. Mr. Bethel designed the barn himself. It has a silo 35’ high in the center that extends almost to the top.
The barn was built and designed for feeding beef cows. All of the cows face the center.
As to the size, it was large enough to drive a team or tractor with manure spreader all the way around the inside for cleaning. It is 52’ in diameter, 42’ high, and 20’ to the eaves. The tile was laid by James Davidson of Polo, MO.
The north side was on ground level. The south side was on ground level as well, but was built on a hillside. It was dug out of the hill making the north side, the first floor under ground.” |