Adams County Old Tyme Association awarded $5,000 grant for roof repairs at historic Lewis Round Barn

CHICAGO – A nationally recognized round barn in Mendon is among nine historic places Landmarks Illinois is helping people preserve through grant funding. 

Landmarks Illinois recently awarded $29,000 in matching grants to seven preservation projects across the state through its Preservation Heritage Fund, and it awarded $5,000 for two projects through the Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund.

The Adams County Olde Tyme Association has served as stewards of the historic Lewis Round Barn since the Lewis family donated the barn to the organization in the 1990s. At the time, the association, with the assistance of local Amish carpenters, dismantled and moved the barn from the Lewis family farm to land near the Adams County Fairgrounds, where it joined a one-room schoolhouse, print shop, a log cabin and a windmill. 

The grant from Landmarks Illinois will help fund roof replacement at the barn.

The barn is now a museum featuring agricultural equipment. It is dedicated to educating the young and old about agricultural heritage. It is one of 14 round barns recognized by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, and it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. 

Landmarks Illinois’ Preservation Heritage Fund grant program provides monetary assistance to significant structures or sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation, or need to be evaluated for landmark eligibility. Created in 2004, the program targets projects focusing on engineering, architectural and feasibility studies, stabilization, legal services, survey and National Register Nominations and preservation ordinance support. Preservation Heritage Fund grants are awarded twice a year.