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Interesting and Fun Facts about Wisconsin's barns…

Trek Bicycle Corporation, famous for manufacturing the bikes Lance Armstrong rode in his Tour de France victories, started out in a rented red pole barn located in rural Waterloo in 1976.

Trek founders chose to headquarter their new business venture in Waterloo, halfway between Richard "Dick" Burke's home in suburban Milwaukee and his partner, Bevel Hogg's home in Madison. The humble, 7000-sq. foot barn, formerly a carpet warehouse, served as the launching pad for the company. The symbolism of the original red barn is reflected in the Trek shield logo that is still being used today.

Trek is the largest manufacturer of bicycles and related aftermarket products in the country and is becoming a major industry player worldwide. Trek's success as a Wisconsin industry parallels the state's longstanding love of cycling. Wisconsin boasts more bicycle trails per capita than any other state in the Union. Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents of all ages take to the road on bicycles each year, generating an economic impact estimated as high as $834 million, according to a 2005 study by the Governor's Bicycling Coordinating Council. Interesting that these same cyclists enjoy the scenic beauty of Wisconsin's old barns. (March, 2008)

The "World's Largest Round Barn" can be found in Marshfield. According to the city's visitor's guide, the round barn was completed in 1916 and measures 150 feet in diameter and stands 70 feet high and was built without scaffolding. This was done by means of staging. They simply started at the bottom and worked up and in. The only supporting beams evident are the cross beams beneath the cupola.

The Round Barn was built at a cost of $5000.00.  It is circular --150 feet in diameter -- and has interior seating accommodations for 500-1000 people.  The first public sale was held on May 10 -11, 1916, selling 125 Holsteins (37 bulls).  The Round Barn has been recognized by “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” as the World’s largest round barn.

Fitted with wooden bleachers and stanchions for 250 head of cattle, it was built to house purebred animals for both sales and shows. Round barns were in vogue then - later, advances in automatic milking machines would replace the three-legged stool and make round barns inefficient - but even so the size and style of this barn stood out.

What makes this barn even more impressive is that it was built by hand, without scaffolding or visible support beams, by a band of barn builders who were also brothers. The contractor and designer was Frank A. Felhofer, and when construction began on Thanksgiving Day of 1915, his main crew consisted of brothers John, Fred and Henry. Other brothers Charles, William and Edward helped out when extra hands were needed.

The barn's builders had to cut the fingers out of their gloves so they could pound nails in shingles in the coldest months of winter. But the Felhofer boys knew what they were doing. They guestimated the two-story roof would require 190,000 shingles, and it finally took 188,000.

The ground floor featured two rings of stalls surrounding an open show ring. A second floor was completed in 1917, and during early fairs, it was used for small animals like chickens and rabbits. Today, the second floor is considered too unstable to be used but the ground floor, now renovated to accommodate more than 300 head of cattle, is still in use.

The World's Largest Round Barn, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is used for various events through the year, but the best time to see it might be during the Central Wisconsin State Fair, which features a state draft horse show, free grandstand and family shows, and other attractions. (January, 2009)

Did you find this information to be of interest or know of any other fun barn facts? Send your comments to: contactus@goshbarnitall.com

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