View source for James Bruce Round Barn

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = James Bruce Round Barn
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = Freeport Il Bruce Round Barn7.JPG
| caption      =
| location     = [[Florence Township, Stephenson County, Illinois|Florence Township]] [[Stephenson County, Illinois|Stephenson County]], [[Illinois]]
| nearest_city = [[Freeport, Illinois|Freeport]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|42|15|6|N|89|38|55|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin     = Illinois#USA
| built        = 1914
| architect    = Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers
| architecture = [[Round barn]]
| added        = February 23, 1984
| area         = less than one acre
| mpsub        = {{NRHP url|id=64000180|title=Round Barns in Illinois TR}}
| refnum       = 84001157<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}

The '''James Bruce Round Barn''' is a [[round barn]] located near the [[Stephenson County, Illinois]] city of [[Freeport, Illinois|Freeport]], [[United States]]. The barn was constructed in 1914 by the team of Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers, who were responsible for at least a dozen round barns in the area. The barn features a single [[hip roof]] design which was probably influenced by the [[Agricultural Experiment Station]]s at the [[University of Illinois]] and the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]]. The Bruce Round Barn was the last known round barn designed by the Shaffer&ndash;Haas team. The building was listed on the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]] as part of a multiple property submission in 1984.

==History==
The James Bruce Round Barn is one of 31 [[round barn]]s found in a four county area that includes [[Winnebago County, Illinois|Winnebago County]], [[Stephenson County, Illinois|Stephenson County]] in Illinois, and [[Rock County, Wisconsin|Rock]] and [[Green County, Wisconsin|Green Counties]] in Wisconsin. Twenty one of those barns are within Stephenson County.<ref name=nrhp2>Sculle, Keith A. "{{NRHP url|id=64000180|title=Round Barns in Illinois Thematic Resources}}," ([[PDF]]) National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 9 January 1984, National Register Information System, ''National Park Service''. Retrieved 14 September 2007.</ref> The Bruce Round Barn was constructed in 1914 for James Bruce by Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers.<ref name=nrhp1/>

==Design==
The barn was designed by the team of Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas Brothers, Shaffer's five brothers-in-law. The Shaffer&ndash;Haas team built 12 of 13 round barns in the Stephenson&ndash;Winnebago County area that have had their carpentry positively attributed.<ref name=nrhp2/>

The [[diameter]] of the James Bruce Round Barn is 58 feet 8&nbsp;inches (about 17.7 m). Its exterior is clad in wooden siding, known as "drop siding," and it stands on a poured concrete foundation. The single [[hip roof]] is supported by a series of braces and topped with a [[cupola]]. The stave [[storage silo|silo]] has a diameter of 12 feet (3.7 m) and is accessed on the barn's northeast side via a [[Banked barn|banked entrance]]. Animals entered the barn at grade level on the south side of the building. Above the south and northeast entrances are overshoots which extend from the wall diagonally and were meant to compensate for the building's lack of overall storm protection.<ref name=nrhp1>Sculle, Keith A. "[http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/201503.pdf James Bruce Round Barn]," National Register of Historic Places Individual Property Form: Multiple Property Submission, October 1983, HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency''. Retrieved 14 September 2007.</ref>[[Image:Freeport Il Bruce Round Barn5.JPG|thumb|right|The Bruce Round Barn features a single [[hip roof]] and a wooden central [[silo]].]]

The single hip roof design represents the evolution of round barn construction in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Furthermore, the inclusion of a central wooden silo on the Bruce Barn may represent the cumulative influence from [[Agricultural Experiment Station]]s at the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]] and the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]].<ref name=nrhp1/> Two of the [[University of Illinois round barns|three round barns]] designed at the University of Illinois experiment station feature the central silo.<ref name=uofi>Burlinson, Audra and Lang-Kummer, Karen. "[http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/201105.pdf University of Illinois Experimental Dairy Farm Historic District]," National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, ([[PDF]]), HAARGIS Database, ''Illinois Historic Preservation Agency'', pp. 7, 10. Retrieved 14 September 2007.</ref>

In the days before [[mechanization]], [[round barns]] were seen as being useful because of their labor-saving features: the [[livestock]] could be fed in one pass around the barn, using the hay stored in the [[loft]] above the stock and the [[grain]] in the central [[silo]].  Cleaning out the [[manure]] likewise could be done in one circuit, with fewer wasted steps.  The coming of machinery, especially with the [[Rural Electrification]] program, obviated labor-saving designs that were more complicated to build, and round barns faded into history.

==Significance==
The Bruce Round Barn is the last known round barn constructed by the team of Shaffer and the Haas Brothers.<ref name=nrhp1/> The design of the Bruce Barn is important in the evolution of general round barn design. The single hip roof construction, complete with a series of internal rafter braces for extra support are the result of the inability of some carpenters to complete the self-supporting roofs that round barns typically utilized.<ref name=nrhp1/> The Haas Brothers and Shaffer came up with two novel solutions to this problem.<ref name=nrhp2/> The first was to construct a conical roof, the second, which is exemplified in the Bruce Round Barn, was to construct a single hip roof.<ref name=footnote1>An example of the alternatively styled "double [[hip roof]]" in round barns can be seen in the [[Thomas Ranck Round Barn]] in Indiana.</ref> The University of Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station heavily influenced the roof style.<ref name=nrhp2/>

The James Bruce Round Barn was listed on the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]] on February 23, 1984.<ref name=nris/> The Bruce Round Barn was part of the original National Register submission that accompanied the development of inclusion criteria for [[Round Barns in Illinois Thematic Resources|Illinois round barns]].<ref name=nrhp2/> These types of specific inclusion criteria are known as [[Multiple Property Submission|multiple property submission]]s, and they outline basic criteria for National Register inclusion for properties of a certain type and attempt to put them into a historical context.<ref name=mps>Lee, Antoinette J. and McClelland Linda F. "[http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb16b/nrb16b.pdf How to Complete the National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307131715/http://www.cr.nps.gov/nR/publications/bulletins/nrb16b/nrb16b.pdf |date=2007-03-07 }}, ([[PDF]]), National Register Bulletin, 1991; 1999 (revised edition), ''National Park Service''. Retrieved 14 September 2007.</ref>  Each property submitted under the auspices of a multiple property submission is listed on the National Register of Historic Places individually.<ref name=mps/>

==See also==
{{Commons category}}
*[[Charles Fehr Round Barn]]
*[[Dennis Otte Round Barn]]
*[[Gerald Harbach Round Barn]]
*[[Robert Weber Round Barn]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

{{National Register of Historic Places}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce Round Barn, James}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1914]]
[[Category:Freeport, Illinois]]
[[Category:Round barns in Illinois]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Stephenson County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Barns on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois]]
[[Category:Bank barns]]