Manhattan Township in Will County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Baker/Koren Round Barn Farm

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 9, 2023

1. Baker/Koren Round Barn Farm Marker

Inscription. The Round Barn is a 20-sided barn is a Will County Landmark and was listed on the Will County Historical Register November 18, 1999. Local records indicate that the Barn was constructed in 1898 by John C. Baker with lumber purchased at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. The barn has balloon frame, measures 60 feet high, 100 feet in diameter, and has a 320-foot circumference; each side measures 16 feet, and each angle is 162 degrees. The barn total board feet is 77,803; the barn has a volume of 258,862 cubic feet, a total of 15,468 feet of floor space, and 360 feet of piping used in the hay feeders. The exterior of the barn has vertical board siding on the first floor and horizontal board siding on the second floor. There are two cupolas; the larger and lower cupola has 20 sides, while the upper cupola has ten sides. The Round Barn remains one of the largest round barns in the State of Illinois.

The Round Barn has four levels: the main floor, a second floor designed for hay storage, a third floor with built-in grain bins, and a fourth floor designed as a hay loft. The second and fourth floors were designed to hold a total

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of 30,000 bales of hay. The original purpose of the main floor was for housing and feeding animals; when built, the barn had 18 stalls which two of them remain intact. The two stalls are constructed with two by fours and have wood block floors.

Sometime between 1948 and the mid-1950's the property was sold to Frank and Dolores Koren and Norman and Fern Christiansen. In 1962, the Christiansens sold their half interest of the property to Frank and Dolores Koren. The Koren family mainly used the barn for livestock and then after the cattle market failed, Korens then used the barn as a museum and offered pony rides, small petting zoo and even a haunted house. The Korens owned the property until May 2005, when it was sold to the Manhattan Park District.

Manhattan Park District initiated the stabilization with cabling, new roof, window and paint in 2012 that was funded by a DCEO grant. The District is still searching for funding through grants and fundraising to provide a complete restoration. Preserving the barn will maintain our sense of history linking the past with the present.

Erected by Manhattan Park District.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 9, 2023

2. Baker/Koren Round Barn Farm Marker

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Architecture. A significant historical year for this entry is 1898.

Location. 41° 26.998′ N, 88° 0.109′ W. Marker is near Manhattan, Illinois, in Will County. It is in Manhattan Township. It can be reached from Manhattan Road (U.S. 52) ¼ mile south of West Baker Road, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 24115 Manhattan Rd, Manhattan IL 60442, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.6 miles away); The Village of New Lenox (approx. 4.8 miles away); Ronald "Papa" Schaper (approx. 4.9 miles away); a different marker also

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named Veterans Memorial (approx. 4.9 miles away); Advertising Across America's Roadways (approx. 5.7 miles away); Original Lincoln Highway Marker (approx. 5.7 miles away); The Lincoln Highway (approx. 5.7 miles away); American Patriotism on the Highway (approx. 5.7 miles away).

Credits. This page was last revised on August 19, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 19, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 1,074 times since then and 122 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 19, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.