The foundation is able to help barn owners preserve these important structures with its grant program. Barns that are taken back to their original appearance with expenses paid for by the owners can go on to earn an award of distinction.

These efforts couldn’t happen without the financial support of donors. In the past 25 years, the foundation has raised more than $2 million and restored more than 270 barns. More than 30 have received the Award of Distinction.

“As we reflect and celebrate 25 years since the founding of the Iowa Barn Foundation, we might ask ourselves why is our mission important? Do barns really matter to anyone? My answer would be a resounding yes to both. As an active farmer we have many modern functional agricultural structures to house our livestock and machinery but I’d hardly call these buildings beautiful. Our 105-year-old barn is a work of art,” said Jack Smith, Iowa Barn Foundation president. “It is our family heirloom and I would be devastated by its loss. It connects me to family members gone before I was born. When visitors come to Iowa, they have expectations of the landscape and that includes historically significant barns.

“No organization in the country has done more to preserve this great symbol of Iowa’s rural heritage.”

-Messenger photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Matt and Jaci Carlson stand outside the family barn with their son, Colin.

The foundation is able to educate the public about the significance and importance of Iowa’s barns through the Iowa Barn Foundation Magazine and barn tours, which raise money to provide barn rehabilitation or restoration matching grants to help property owners restore their barns.

At the peak of small-farm agriculture in Iowa, it is estimated there were more than 200,000 barns across the state. After World War II, mechanization, fertilizer and hybrid seed corn all came onto the scene, transforming Iowa agriculture. With modern machinery, farmers could take on more acres leading to a dramatic shift in farm size and count.

In 1950, Iowa had 206,000 farms with an average size of 169 acres. In 2021, Iowa had 84,900 farms with an average size of 359 acres.

Transportation improvements meant that animals could be shipped longer distances to market, leading to specialization and larger animal farms. Barns that were built to raise a variety of a small number of horses, beef cows, dairy cows, sheep and hogs were no longer practical.

Multi-purpose wood barns gave way to more practical metal-sided structures to house animal operations as well as large machinery,” explained David Austin, foundation board member and editor of the foundation’s magazine.

While there is no official count of Iowa’s remaining barns, the Iowa Barn Foundation estimates that approximately 40,000 remain across the state.

“We have been losing approximately 1,000 barns a year over the past 20 years and we believe the derecho that hit Iowa in August of 2020 took a much heavier toll on barn numbers,” Austin said. “Fortunately, many barns are being preserved by farm families and barn enthusiasts who understand the historic significance of these structures.”

The grants extended to barn owners who abide by certain criteria help preserve these agricultural gems. For example, the 1919 Dobbin Round Barn in Marshall County was preserved by its owners, Christy Dobbin Chambers and her husband Jonathan Chambers.

“Our legacy to the Dobbin family is to save the barn for future generations to enjoy. Our legacy to Iowa history is to preserve the entire farmstead as a tribute to the importance of early 1900 family farms to our state,” Dobbin Chambers said.

The foundation’s 2022 barn tour featured 66 barns located across the state. The 2023 spring tour has been scheduled for June 24-25 in Van Buren County, while the 2023 fall tour will feature more than 60 barns across the state.

“Our tours are an opportunity to immerse yourself in Iowa agriculture history. Barns are available to tour inside and out, and owners are present to share the history of their barns and answer questions. The tours are a great opportunity for multi-generation family adventures,” Austin said. “My two favorite conversations to observe during barn tours are when barn owners are sharing memories from years gone by showing how farming operations were housed in their barns, and when parents and grandparents relive their childhood showing the younger generations the work they did inside of barns in their youth,”

For more information about the foundation, its grant program or the award program, visit https://iowabarnfoundation.org.