The unique, nine-sided barn of La Porte, Indiana on a beautiful Fall morning. Surrounded by colorful trees, the Door Prairie barn greets visitors to the city of La Porte on highway 35.
Built in 1882 by a Quaker who raised Clydesdale horses, the nine-sides provided individual stalls for horses, with a central area for hay.
The structure was built using post and beam construction, in fact, each beam was stamped with a number - something not unusual for this type of construction, as each piece was handmade and only fit together with a particular mating piece.
Round barns can have as many as 16 sides, and generally, they seem to have an even number of sides. The Door Prairie barn has nine sides, an odd number. Not only does this seem unusual, it is, and this structure is the only remaining nine-sided barn still standing in the country.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, the barn underwent some period correct repairs and restorations since.
The barn was in the Ridgeway family until 1982, when Dr. P. Kesling purchased the property. He now maintains the famous piece of La Porte history, and even added a small parking/view area for those wanting to stop for a photograph.
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