RIVERSIDE

It wasn’t the first time the Washington County Riverboat Foundation honored an emergency grant request outside of their usual spring and fall grant cycles, but it is the largest. After a public meeting held on Wednesday, July 31 at the Riverside Casino, the WCRF board approved a $300,000 grant to the Kalona Historical Society for their historic barn moving and restoration project.

The grant will enable the historical society to relocate a Washington County barn that would otherwise be destroyed to the Kalona Historical Village, where it will become home to exhibits telling the story of Kalona’s agricultural past and provide space for meetings and events.

At the noon meeting local historian Mike Zahs made the case for saving and preserving the 100-plus year old barn, which is presently located on a farmstead on G36 west of Highway 218. The property has been in decline and a new owner is working to clear the land of unsalvageable buildings.

Zahs was consulted before demolition began, and he concluded the barn “was in extremely good condition.” The owner offered to donate the barn, but the historical society would have to pay the cost of relocation, which is substantial due to the need to remove power lines and employ specialist Amish barn movers.

As the owner intended to tear the barn down in short order should it not be removed, the historical society faced time pressure in raising funds to relocate the barn. Thus, they approached the WCRF about the possibility of an emergency grant.

Zahs argued that this particular gambrel barn is worth saving because it is “typical” and thus one that most people in the area can relate to.

“This barn would be a barn that most people who grew up 100 years ago and since [would be] familiar with,” he said. “That’s what we need to save more of, from a historical standpoint: what was typical, not what was atypical.”

Zahs pointed out that only 10 barn museums exist in Iowa, and most of those are exterior only. Should the barn be incorporated into the Kalona Historical Village, it “would tell the agricultural part of our story very, very well” and be a rare and unique attraction within the state.

It would also fill a void not presently filled at the Kalona Historical Village, Managing Director Nancy Roth pointed out.

“One thing we are lacking at the Historical Society is telling the history of farming and agriculture in our area,” she said.

The $300,000 requested of the WCRF board would not fund the entirety of the barn project, which would ultimately incorporate ag-related items and exhibits, but “it would mean that it could get moved and saved.”

Three of four sisters who grew up on the farmstead where the barn stands also attended the meeting. Marj Lins shared what the barn means to them.

“It seems to be providence that the barn always seems to survive, no matter what has happened in the farmyard,” she said. “We girls have many happy memories of our farm life there.”

The four sisters, Lins, Ruth Ann Stacy, Dorothy Stout, and Kathy Hunt, continue to live nearby in Brighton, Ainsworth, and Washington.

“We love the barn. We hope that you will help us preserve the memories we have,” Lins said.

After making their case, the Kalona Historical Society group left the room while the WCRF board deliberated.

Board members acknowledged that the price tag was high, but many recalled their own barn memories and lamented how many old barns have already disappeared. They also recalled how successful the historical society’s recent Streetscape project turned out, which was also funded in part by a WCRF grant.

After 11 minutes of discussion, the nine board members present voted unanimously to fund the barn project.

When the historical society group returned and learned they will receive the grant, their reactions were emotional.

“This is just wonderful redemption,” Stacy said as she and her sisters celebrated after the meeting.

“Very thrilled,” is how Roth described herself. “I think that the [WCRF] board sees the significance in this.”

“There are a lot of people who were a part of this decision who have a passion for agriculture, because Washington County is a big agricultural area,” she said.

Acquiring a barn has been one of Roth’s goals for the 20 years she has been with the Kalona Historical Village. Now she can cross that item off her bucket list.

“We’re growing, we’re improving things,” she said. “A lot of that has to do with the Riverboat Foundation, because ever since they started giving grants, we’ve been a part of the money being received, and it’s only made us better.”

The Kalona Historical Society hopes to move the barn to Kalona as early as this fall, with the new space open to visitors potentially in late 2025.