Name

Wisconsin Dairy Barns

General Range

1910-1940

The Wisconsin Dairy Barn, sometimes called the Prairie Barn, emerged in Wisconsin in the late 19th century as a single-level barn. It was introduced into Pennsylvania in the very early 20th century and was a common barn type constructed in Pennsylvania until World War II. Companies that offered kit houses (such as Bungalows) also offered kit barns, beginning with the Wisconsin barn. These kits included all elements needed to build the barn, and often the elements had incised part numbers.
 
Wisconsin Barns represented an entire re-thinking of barn design. The key exterior feature was the gambrel roof. While it is commonly reported that the benefit of the gambrel was an additional 12% of storage space on the interior (compared to a standard gabled roof), the actual innovation of the Wisconsin Barn was a free span upper level that allowed equipment to run lengthwise. The lower level was no longer devoted to animal stalls where livestock spent the night. Instead, the lower level was a modern dairy operation. The configuration of the dairy operation changed c. 1930, which helps distinguish between the early and late phases of the Wisconsin barn. The photo above of a barn on East Lake Road in North East Township appears to be an example of the early phase of the Wisconsin Barn.
 
In the early phase, the animals entered the dairy operation along the outer walls. The people who milked worked up and down the center aisle, securing the heads of the cows in the metal stanchions and milking them by hand.
 
The second phase of Wisconsin barns was made possible by the introduction of vacuum-powered milking equipment. The vacuum hoses were installed down the center aisle, pumping the milk into holding tanks in an adjacent room. The people who secured the heads of the cows and fed them worked along the exterior walls, and the center aisle became the pathway of the cows. Thus the interior configuration of the dairy operation can help date the barn. The barn above, located at, appears to be an example of this second phase.

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Municipality

Address

Concord Township

20733 LINDSEY HOLLOW RD

City of Corry

122 E WAYNE ST

Greene Township

10020 JONES RD

Greene Township

11141 W GREENE RD

Greene Township

9425 OLD WATERFORD RD

Harborcreek Township

6568 IROQUOIS AVE

LeBoeuf Township

13925 FLATTS RD

McKean Township

9644 SHADDUCK RD

McKean Township

8590 PEFFER RD

McKean Township

9331 OLIVER RD

North East Township

SIDEHILL RD

North East Township

E LAKE RD

Springfield Township

6498 TUBBS RD

Summit Township

OLD FRENCH RD

Union Township

9518 ROUTE 6