Champaign County is home to many historic round barns. Their unique shape is hard to miss. Three of these barns, located on the University of Illinois campus, will undergo restoration, along with a home that once housed a farm manager. These barns were built between 1907 and 1913 as part of a larger complex. They have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994 and will receive major repairs.

Click here for more information on the round barn project, and to watch a livestream of the construction. 

A black and white photograph of a round barn taken through fence wires. There is snow on the ground.

This photograph shows one of the round barns on campus. It was taken in 1978 by Courier staff photographer, Phil Greer. Photograph from the Univesity of Illinois Round Barns photographs envelope.

A black and white photocopied diagram showing the interior of one of the round barns.

This diagram, printed in The Round Barn by Wilber J. Fraser, written in 1918, shows a floorplan of one of the barns. If you are interested in learning more about the construction of, and methodology behind the round barns, this book is a great resource.

Interested in learning more? The Archives has material on local round barns. Take a look at our catalog!

-Sara Bennett

Archives Librarian