CAPITAL TIMES (Madison, Wis.) editorial
September 19, 2001
UW barn a treasure
One of the most distinctive features of UW-Madison’s campus is the mix of buildings from almost every era of the university’s 150 years. They tell both the history of architecture and of the school itself from North Hall, the first campus structure — built in 1851 for $19,000 — to the Waisman Center, which just celebrated the completion of its $25 million expansion earlier this month.
One of the most unique — and historic — buildings on campus is the UW Dairy Barn. Built in 1896, it has no specific use today other than storage. That puts it at risk for demolition, according to preservationists who want to see the barn named to the National Register of Historic Places.
UW-Extension, the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation and the Wisconsin Historical Society are already working to save many of Wisconsin’s historic agricultural buildings in rural areas around the state via the Wisconsin Barn Preservation Initiative. But this barn is different.
For one thing it’s a rare example of a barn that is now in an urban area. And it’s a barn that started a revolution.
When agricultural physicist Franklin H. King discovered that round, above-ground silos provided quality year-round feed for the state’s emerging dairy industry, the new barn became an international model for farmers who’d never seen a tower silo. And it became a visible symbol of the Wisconsin Idea — spreading the practical benefits and information resulting from university research to the state’s residents.
Jerry Apps, the man who wrote the book about Wisconsin barns, sees the Dairy Barn as a symbol — a “symbol of historic preservation for the region.” Apps correctly notes that “if we allow these kinds of buildings to topple, then thousands of others will as well.”
Without the dairy industry, both the university and the state of Wisconsin would be very different indeed. And the Dairy Barn is arguably the most important barn in the history of both institutions as well.
What the barn represents “is something very powerful,” says Apps. “When we forget our histories, we forget who we are.”
The high-tech and biotech initiatives of the university and the state are already well on their way to accelerating that forgetfulness. But it is precisely that mix of architecture both old and new that makes the campus memorable. Just as it is that mix of industries both traditional and innovative that will continue to move Wisconsin forward.
The state and the university could do no better service for Wisconsin citizens than to come together to celebrate their shared history by preserving the Dairy Barn.
The Madison Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting donations to nominate
the UW Dairy Barn to the National Register of Historic Places. They estimate
they will need $3,200 to accomplish this. Contributions may be made to:
Barns NOW!
P.O. Box 2288
Madison, WI 53701
©2001 The Capital Times
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