Barn Activities at the Big Kansas Road Trip – May 3-6, 2018
The Kansas Sampler Foundation is inviting visitors from all around to tour Kiowa, Comanche and Barber counties as a part of the Big Kansas Road Trip The Kansas Barn Alliance will be present with a booth/display at the Fromme-Birney Round Barn southwest of Mullinville. We will be answering questions on how to restore barns, will be hosting the showing of The Barn Raisers movie at Greensburg’s Twilight Theatre and are sponsoring Len Schamber in giving a presentation on at 4 pm on Saturday.
The Fromme-Birney Round Barn is located 3 ½ miles south and 1 ¾ miles west of Mullinville.
Daily activities at Mullinville’s Fromme-Birney Round Barn- Check our acoustics by singing Home on the Range in the center of the hayloft of the round barn
- View the permanent exhibits of agriculture of 1912; round barns of the US.
- Get barn preservation ideas from the Kansas Barn Alliance booth/display
- Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities
- Open all day
- 5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn
- Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities
- Open all day
- 5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn
- Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities
6:00 - 8:30 a.m. - Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast (donations accepted)served by Mullinville Recreation Commission. Join us for the beautiful sunrise & breakfast
10:30 a.m. - Showing of "The Barn Raisers" barn documentary at Twilight Theatre in Greensburg. Several Kansas barns are in this 2017 movie.
"The Barn Raisers" historical documentary feature film tells the story of barns in the Midwest by examining them through the lens of architecture. What do barn settings, styles, methods and materials tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these vanishing country cathedrals played in the settling and building of a growing nation? Barns were constructed by farmer-craftsmen, professional builders who traveled from job to job and even architects like Frank Lloyd Wright. "The Barn Raisers" paints a cinematic portrait of barns and builders, and reminds us that these remnants from America's rural past are still here to be appreciated and experienced.Learn more:
1:00-4:00 pm - Book Signing - Trudy Weaver Flowers will be selling and signing her second book, "Storms on the Prairie." It tells of the difficult times in Kiowa County and Mullinville during the 1930's Depression and Dust Bowl. Trudy's first book, "Dream or Destiny: A Sage of Pioneer Spirit in an Unpredictable Land" about the establishment of Mullinville's Eagle Canyon Ranch will also be available.
4:00 pm Barn Restoration Tips and Methods - by Len Schamber - Historic Preservation Contractor with Schamber Historic Preservation and Kansas Barn Alliance
5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn
6:00 pm Musical Entertainment - Norval Ralstin - Musical Saw; Wilma McChristian &Tracy Weaver - Accordion; Eldon Weaver - Harmonica; and Trudy Weaver Flowers on Ukulele
7:00 pm Jeff Davidson Concert - (free admission) Jeff Davidson is a Kansas singer/songwriter and uses his original works as well as vintage songs of old to lead audiences through the history of the “winnin’ of the west” which shaped the economy, ideology and heroism of a young nation.
Davidson of Eureka, KS is a man of many hats. Jeff is a cowboy, musician, poet, historian, K-State Research & Extension Watershed Specialist, rangeland plant identification expert, and a former Greenwood County Extension Educator. He has performed music for over 30 years, taking western music combined with western history to communities throughout Kansas, from Kansas City to Elkhart and from St. Francis to Columbus.
He began his entertainment career as a square dance caller, and in 1985 became the entertainer for the Flint Hills Overland Wagon Train and served in that capacity for 24 years. Come and enjoy this free concert followed by a beautiful western Kansas sunset.
Sunday, May 6
- Open all day
- 5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn
- Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities
For more information on activities at the Fromme-Birney Round Barn (during the road trip) contact Bob Neier at 316-640-0438
The Fromme-Birney Round Barn
Description:
Not actually round, but sixteen sided, the barn stands 50’ tall and 70’ in diameter. It is covered with a double pitch, domical roof that is topped with a sixteensided cupola with an elaborate 6 ½ foot weathervane. Almost 2,000 floral-pattern imprinted galvanized metal “hip shingles” cover the ridges where the sixteen sides of the roof come together.
A sixteen sided granary stands in the center of the barn on the first floor, and measures sixteen feet across. A wagon area measuring thirteen feet wide encircles the granary. Fourteen trapezoidal stalls measuring fourteen feet in length and fourteen feet at their widest part line the exterior wall on the first floor. The two-level haymow is covered with toungue in groove pine boards.
The original color was white with a green roof. The barn stands out for miles around and served as a landmark for training WWII bomber navigators.
In 2008 the round barn was voted one of the “8 Wonders of Kansas – Architecture” by the Kansas Sampler Foundation.
Background:
In 1912 Henry W. Fromme, a German immigrant, hired William “Pat” Campbell, a local carpenter, to build a large round barn to house 28 draft horses and a box stall for the registered Percheron stallion (named Bouquet) which he imported from France. Round barns were promoted as being more wind resistant, efficient use of space, and took less lumber to construct the same volume of space. The estimated cost was $8,000, which is several thousand dollars higher than other barns of the time.
Soon after construction, the tractor replaced the horse as the farm power source and the barn was obsolete. It was later used for hay storage. In the 1980’s Phyllis Birney received the barn and one acre of land from her husband Lawrence as a 15th wedding anniversary gift. Through her efforts, in 1987 the barn became listed as the Fromme-Birney “Round” Barn on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance.
The barn was restored in 1995 with a Heritage Trust Fund grant and donations from supporters all across the country. The restoration was done by Jerry and Jeff Koehn of Greensburg.
The barn is owned by the Kiowa County Historical Society and maintained by the round barn committee led by Norval and Beverly Ralstin of Mullinville.
Visitors are Welcome:
Drop by and see the barn – located 3 ½ miles south and 1 ¾ miles west of Mullinville. It is always open. Simply open the door, turn on the lights and enjoy the exhibits. Please turn off the lights when you leave.
Admission is free, donations are accepted.
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