Indiana Barns:Iconic as the soil of the Earth

 In July of 1969 I moved into Elkhart County.  One of the first impressions that grabbed my attention and fascination were the barns. I would ride my bicycle along the county roads and see these large structures which commanded a sense of respect. I gained a sense of respect for the labor of the farmer. I gained a sense of respect for the pride of family identity they presented as I read family names and dates of construction on the upper areas of the barns.

   These structures of farm culture preserve a character of history. They are as iconic as the soil of the Earth is beautiful in its utilitarian fruitfulness.

Some of these barns show evidence of better times having passed decades ago.

Some continue to be useful in productive manner.

Some serve as historic punctuation in a story that reaches back into farm history and forward into the future.

Thanks to Gail Shively for giving me a tour of the Kosciusko County Farm buildings.

Indiana takes barns so very seriously that you can get a deduction of valuation for an “Heritage Barn”. To find out more about this deduction and eligibility requirements visit:

https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-6-taxation/in-code-sect-6-1-1-12-26-2.html

You may visit the official Indiana forms access page to download the form “Statement of Deduction of Assessed valuation attributed to Heritage Barn”

This form is found at: https://www.in.gov/iara/2362.htm

And yet more information on the history of Indiana Barns is found at: http://www.indianabarns.org/about

Elkhart County

Mike at Elkhart County Courthouse

   It was July, 1969 that I moved from Detroit Michigan to Elkhart County Indiana. And while I enjoyed Detroit, the Tigers, my school, Carstens, I gained, in Elkhart County, a deeper connection to nature. Detroit was all brick, cement, glass. One reported area in terms of city blocks, such as “that bank occupies a full city block.”  In Elkhart County, the report was “his farm was of 150 acres.”

    I enjoyed the aroma of disturbed soil being prepared for planting.

 The weather was given a wide stage upon which to perform its visual and sonic effect as rolling fields of corn, green and uniform, received the alternating blessings of rain and sun.

   The evenings were alive with the sound of peepers, frogs, and other musical creatures.

    It was the nighttime sky above acres of farmland that became the instance in which I learned how to spot the Big Dipper.

   Yes, the theater of nature, Elkhart County, not only entertained my senses; it informed my intellect causing a richer connection with nature.

Arthur Franklin Mapes described Indiana well in his poem which has been made the Indiana State Poem…

” God crowned her hills with beauty,

Gave her lakes and winding streams,

     Then He edged them all with woodlands

As the setting for our dreams.”

I claim those sentiments for Elkhart County even more so.