Minden: Despite the fact barns are fast disappearing from the rural scene, there are still plenty that grace farmsteads, although fewer and fewer are being used for anything except storage. One type, not too plentiful, is the round barns which in the early days were quite popular. There are now 36 of these barns in the state, according to barn historians but the central part of the state can claim only two of these. One is located between Gibbon and Minden and is considered the best-preserved barn of its type in the state. The other is between Loup City and Ord and they say this has been deteriorating for sometime.
The one near Minden on the Cliff Younkin farm was built in 1917. It was one of two such barns built on this farmstead by the original owner of the farm, the late Boyd C. Radford. For years the two barns were the showplaces of the area. Beside each was a large silo. One of the barns served the Radfords for a horse barn and the other was used exclusively for cattle, as Radford was a purebred Hereford cattle breeder.
Dallas Radford of Grand Island, son of the original owner, said his dad built the barns in 1917 and 1918. He said it took a full year to build the two barns.
He said both were 60 feet in diameter and were 58 feet high. A wind in 1951 blew down one of the barns and a silo fell against it knocking a gaping hole in the side. The barn still standing is tile up the first 20 feet. It is wood the balance of the way to the top. |
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This is covered with a wooden shingle roof.
Tile for the barn came from Seward, Radford said. A number of years ago Mr. Younkin, who lives in Minden, painted the shingles.
Radford said it took three carpenters and three masons a full year to build the two barns. The floor of the barn is made of creosoted wooden blocks similar to bricks in size. Eighteen feet above the floor of the barn is the hayloft, which can be reached by a stairway leading up from the center of the barn. The stalls for the horses and cattle are pie shaped since the ????? in 1918 and the other was held on July 4, 1918.
He said he could not recall how much hay the haymow would hold, but it was a good many tons. When loose hay was stored, it was hoisted into the mow with a lift from the hayrack. Later when they began baling hay, there was a track around the inside of the loft. Here the bales could be transported to any part of the mow and raised or lowered as needed.
He said one of the features farmers liked about the round barns was the number of doors which could be opened around the outside of the barn. This he said, permitted them to let stock in or out from various parts of the barn rather than just through a single door as in most barns.
It was found that farmers also could clean round barns much easier. It was also possible to have more stalls to keep stock. |