DID YOU KNOW? for September 27- October 10, 2022:
What do the famed ‘round barns of Wisconsin’ owe to the son of a former slave? Many of the round barns, especially in southwest Wisconsin, were designed and built by Alga Shivers whose father operated the largest “negro-owned” farm in the state in 1900. Shivers became widely known for his skill in the design and construction of round barns, most of which were constructed between 1890 and 1930.
Round barns were also built in parts of New England and areas of Indiana, however Vernon County, WI once had the highest concentration of them in the country, and most of those constructed in the decades just before and after the turn of the 20th century were designed and built by Shivers and craftsmen working with him.
Learn more…
LaCrosse Historical Society’s Past, Present & Future, Vol. 38, No. 2, June 2017 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53345a30e4b0e0212de83d1a/t/59270426414fb5234ed4efc9/1495729199710/Vol+38+No+2_June_2017.pdf
"The Round Barns of Vernon County" https://driftlesswisconsin.com/the-round-barns-of-vernon-county/
Farm & Ranch Living, History in the Round, October 1, 2020 https://www.pressreader.com/usa/farm-and-ranch-living/20201001/281492163716296
