This round barn replaced an older barn that burned. By way of ramps, cows or horses walked directly into either of the barn s lower two levels. Walking inside ourselves, we almost gasped. Stanchions circle a vast open core. Far overhead, at the building s apex, a cupola acts as a vent.
Rafters radiate from the cupola to support the round roof.
Sunbeams illuminate an intricate array of vertical masts supporting the floors, the rafters, the roof. But this cathedral was practical. Kennedy described the brothers bringing in their herd for the morning milking. Each cow, unsupervised, walks around the outer circle to its own stanchion and pokes its head through, attracted by the core s 400 tons of hay, tossed down from above. Meanwhile, the brothers can chuck the manure down to a manure pit, for spreading onto the fields.