Octagon Barn

Octagon Barn. . , The original owner of this farmstead, James L. Purdy, was on a trip to Iowa when he saw an octagonal barn and was determined to have one of his own. When he returned to Gagetown, he hired the Munro Bothers, local builders who had previously built the elegant home on his country property, to recreate the octagonal barn for him. In 1923, according to Cora's diary, construction began on James' "Air Castle" and was completed in 1924. It measures 102' across and 70' high. Each wall is 24' to the eave and 42'6" wide. The three-stage roof with dormers and 32 nine light windows is very unique as most octagonal barns have a gambrel roof without roof windows. The interior of the Barn features a sophisticated ventilation system, a circular hay track with a Ney Brand hay carrier and a 29' deep mow on the north and south sides. At the time, the State and Federal Agriculture Departments were promoting round and octagonal barns as the barn of the future for agriculture, as you could get more square footage of space from the same amount of building material than you could by building a typical rectangular gambrel roof barn. Please step inside and see the awesome beauty of Mr. Purdy's "Air Castle."