The Secrest 1883 Octagonal Barn sits off a gravel road in Cedar County. Its eight-sided, bell-shaped structure makes it a unique building, and it's a stop on this year’s All-State Barn Tour — a statewide event highlighting preserved and restored Iowa barns.
The barn was built in 1883, and in its prime, it held 200 tons of hay, 32 horses and 16 cows.
When Richard Tyler, an audiologist and University of Iowa professor, first encountered it, the barn was in trouble. In 1992, he purchased it and decided to restore it to its full glory.
“It's a bank barn, and the dirt on the bank side was pushing the barn over. I just was impressed by it and wrote a grant and had lots of volunteers and got started on it right away,” Tyler said.
Tyler has received grants from the State Historical Society of Iowa, Preservation Iowa and the Iowa Barn Foundation for these restoration efforts. Founded in 1997, the foundation is dedicated to Iowa’s endangered rural buildings — symbols of Iowa’s early agriculture heritage.
“We ask that people take an assessment of their barn, and we look at not only the roof shape — which has a story behind it — and why the roof shapes changed throughout time, but also the construction — the architectural features, the construction materials," said Deann Haden, who serves on the board of directors for the Iowa Barn Foundation. "They can indicate changes in our agricultural heritage as pioneers and settlers moved across the state."
Tyler — who is originally from Ontario, Canada — has no farming background, but he’s always had an interest in architecture, which drew him to restore the property.
“It's clearly a very special, unique place, and it just all sort of happened one step at a time,” he said.
In addition to preserving its structure, Tyler has preserved a range of farm implements that are displayed throughout the barn.
What used to be the hayloft is now home to a dance floor, used for weddings and other events.
“I'm not trying to make money from it. Again, it's open every day for free. I have an annual tinnitus and hyperacusis conference every year, and we always have a square dance in the round barn,” Tyler said.
He isn’t sure what the future holds for the barn, but has enjoyed preserving its history and showing it to people across the state.
“It's a real Iowa treasure, and I'm glad that I saved it, and I'm glad that people enjoy it, and they come on a regular basis,” Tyler said.
To Deann Haden, Iowa barns represent everything good about Iowa — from work ethic to agricultural heritage.
“It's hard work. It's family. It's a slice of Americana,” she said.
The Secrest 1883 Octagonal Barn and 107 other restored barns are on display on the All-State Barn Tour September 19-20. The self-guided tour is free and open to the public, and barns will be open for touring from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To hear this conversation, listen to Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe. Samantha McIntosh produced this episode.
