Main Barn - Spring Hill Ranch - Strong City, Kansas
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 26.011 W 096° 33.505
14S E 713111 N 4256739
Historic barn now summer visitors center for the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve northwest of Strong City, Kansas.
Waymark Code: WMBCYH
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/07/2011
Views: 3
The barn "is a possible variant of a German bank barn, which were constructed into a hillside. Stables are generally on the ground level, and threshing floors on the highest, reached by sloped ramps. 10 The threestory coursed rubble stone barn, approximately 110 x 60 feet, has comers and fenestrations accentuated with squared quarry-face quoins. At the time of its construction in 1881, the 6,480 square foot barn lacked two feet from being the largest barn in the state. Its hipped gable roof is presently covered with composition shingles; originally, it took over five thousand pounds of tin to cover the roof.
The barn was built into a south-facing hill, so that the ground level on the south is accessible from the south corral. The second level of the barn is at grade on the north, and the third level is accessible from the north by two sod and wood ramps supported by large tapering stone piers. The ramps lead up into two large hipped gable dormers with double-wood doors. Centered between these two dormers is another hipped gable dormer with three 4x4 double-hung windows: one on each of the dormer walls. All three dormer walls are sheathed with wood shingles. At the second story (ground level on the north) are two sets of double wood doors between the ramps. A smaller gable dormer with end window is centered on the south-facing gable slope of the main roof. Two clapboard gable roof cupolas are atop the ridge line; both have vents on the gable ends and two doublehung windows on the north/south walls. On the first level, there are two large entry doors on the east and one large and two smaller doors on the south. On the west end, there is one large entry at the second level. All of the entries have deeply recessed wood doors, squared quoin surrounds, and keystones in the segmentally arched openings. The majority of windows on the south and east elevations are 4 x 4 double-hung, and have dressed stone lugsills and lintels.
The first floor contains original stalls used for horses, milk cows, and pigs. There are two main sets of stalls on the north and south ends of the barn, separated by tack and other utility rooms near the center. Massive hewn beams support the second floor and form the ends of each stall. The second floor, a large open area divided only by massive supports, was used to store farm equipment. It is presently used as a visitors' center and reception area which has involved very minor alterations. The third floor was used to store grain and possibly for threshing. In the 1950s, the Z Bar Cattle installed a granary bin in the center of the third floor. Originally, there was a large windmill - "the largest in the state" - attached to the barn. Its thirty foot wing span had power sufficient for a pair of corn burrs, a corn sheller, a hay chopper, a root-cutter, and an oil-cake crusher. However, the vibrations generated from the windmill caused damage to the bam, and the windmill was removed after only about a year of use. 12 The barn has extremely high integrity in all areas: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association." - National Historic Landmark District Nomination