Barns of Wisconsin

In this revised edition of an award-winning work, Jerry Apps provides an informative and moving account of Wisconsin's most hand-working structures -- its barns. Symbols of optimism, pride, and practicality, barns are as diverse as the people who built them. Here Apps describes the exquisite craftmanship with which Finns, Norweigans, Germans and other immigrant groups built their pioneer barns. We learn, too, how round and octagonal barns developed, and why cupolas and lightning rods were used, and how some of Wisconsin's barns became covered with colorful murals and billboards. Allen Strang's meticulous pencil sketches and eight stunning watercolors illustrate the text. Unfortunately, our barns are fast disappearing, victims of urban development and the trend toward large-scale farming. In a new chapter, Apps describes the nationwide movement to save these historic structures, and tells us how some owners have converted barns to innovative new uses. In so doing, he offers both inspiration and practical advice to anyone who believes these magnificent buildings should continue to stand proudly in the Wisconsin landscape.