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Town of Chase Barn Rocks on National Register BY WARREN GERDS A is for Architecture TOWN OF CHASE -- Well off an Oconto County road in a field stands a stands a structure that's on the National Register of Historic Places. That seems odd. "How so?" asked Christopher Jaworski, who helped get the Town of Chase Stone Barn on the registered. It's not downtown Boston. "It is unique," Jaworski said with a smile. "The reason the barn was put on the national/state register is that it is a rare example of an all-field-stone barn. There are only two all-field-stone barns in Wisconsin." The 60-by-100 foot structure was built in 1903 from materials much, much older -- 2 billion years. "It's primarily granite, with some sedimentary rock, that was all brought here by the series of glaciers that came through thousands of years ago," Jaworski said. Built to house milking short-horned cattle and their feed, the barn is of German heritage by way of its builder. "It definitely has an Old World look to it," said Jaworski, president of the Pulaski Area Historical Society and member of the Town of Chase park commission. The structure is believed to have its original corrugated sheet tin roof. "The walls are two feet thick," Jaworski said. "They're estimated to weigh two tons per linear foot." What first impressed him was the care the builders took to display the stones, which are of a wide variety. "It's neat that these stones are from this area," Jaworski said. "Somebody took something that would be considered a hindrance (to farmers' plows) and made something that was not only functional, but beautiful as well." The structure includes lime-putty mortar, orange farm-house-type brick for arches over windows, mined limestone for arches over doorways, arched half mooned windows on each end of the barn and the remnants of a silo inside. "The support beams are tamarack poles, and the structural inside beams are cedar," Jaworski said. The barn is not open to the public at present, but the town has plans to convert it into a public gathering place. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The quick tour - Name of Structure: Town of Chase Stone Barn - Location: Epicenter of township of Chase: Oconto: Cty S and Schwartz Rd - Website: www.townofchase.org - Status: National Register of Historic Places - Original Location: Yes - Owner: Township of Chase - Vintage: 1903 - Architectural Style: Fieldstone barn of German heritage - Distinguishing Characteristics: All field stone, 60-by-100 feet, 2-foot-thick walls - Materials: Field stone, lime putty mortar, corrugated sheet tin roof (original), support beams in roof are tamarack poles and structural inside beams are cedar. - Open to Public: Not now. A plan is in the works to make it accessible to the public. - Famous Owner: Dr. John Minahan owned it twice for a short period of time, probably as an investment. He was lead surgeon at St. Vincent Hospital and from a prominent Green Bay and Fox Valley family. - Factoid: One of only two all-field-stone barns in Wisconsin. |