100 year old round barn destroyed by storm

In ten years of searching for round barns, this true round structure near the tiny Polk County town of Trail was probably the most difficult to find. It was one of the few times traveling around the state when my sense of direction failed me. After a few futile attempts using written road directions, I stopped in Trail for help. I found the local bar and walked in not knowing if anyone there would even know that a round barn existed in the area. Surprisingly, the bartender gave me clear directions, then led me to a wall filled with pictures of the town in its pioneer years and showed me a large photograph of the round barn. 

Upon arriving at the farmstead, I immediately noticed the barn, standing, but beginning to deteriorate. While taking photographs, I had the feeling that at one time, this was a grand structure and probably a local showpiece. The farmstead had been vacated. The only two structures were the barn and a camper.

I estimate the barn to be 60 feet in diameter with a two- pitch roof, and an octagonal louvered cupola. Its original red horizontal wood siding has been covered with metal sheets. In most barns in this condition, the roof is the first component to fail followed by the walls. Here the roof seemed totally intact, but the rippling of the metal siding indicated that the walls may be starting to shift.

In my research for this book, I always tried to find information on the history of each barn, especially the year it was built and its first owner. Polk County and township records turned up nothing on this barn and it looked as if my piece would consist of a picture and a short architectural description. However, something kept drawing me back to the search; I felt that there had to be a story here. I found the name of a local township supervisor who lives in Trail and wrote her to ask whether she knew of this barn and whether it was still standing. She replied that she didn’t know the status of the barn but gave me the name and address of a daughter of the previous owner. When I was able to contact the family member, she sent me her memories of the barn. Reading it, I realized that my words could not do justice to this family’s memories.

Following is a remembrance of the Handy Barn by Lynda Turenne.

“The barn was built by my great uncle Reir (Robert) Handy in the early 1900’s and was not only a source of comfort for the farm animals, but also a source of amusement for relatives and friends of the Handys. There are not many that did not enjoy swinging in circles from the pulley ropes or jumping off into the hay when they visited. My parents, Johnnie T. and Effie May Handy purchased the farm in 1932. My dad was so proud of his barn and kept it in pristine condition. It was unique in that it was perfectly round; my great uncle soaked the wood for many months so it would curve to 360 degrees. My brother, sister and I grew up playing in that round barn, and as our families grew, so did they. The barn is still standing and all the grandkids and great grandkids and now the great, great grandkids love the farm more than ever

The barn is in sad shape, but the kids call the farm Paradise Ranch and spend as much time as they can there. A few years ago we went to a workshop to find out about restoring it but found just the concrete and the cedar shakes were very much out of our league. So soon the barn will just live in our hearts and memories. However, the barn is etched on the headstones of my parents in a little country cemetery just two miles from their beloved farm and round barn.”