TOWN OF WIOTA, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of the Daniel and Catherine Welty Barn in the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 2024. Constructed around 1850, the barn is located on a 13-acre farm in the Town of Wiota, Lafayette County.

The Daniel and Catherine Welty Barn is a Grundscheier or “ground” barn that was commonly constructed by German immigrants in Southeastern Pennsylvania during the mid-nineteenth century. The Welty family moved west from their homestead in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1843, settling in southern Wisconsin in 1848. The family settled on approximately 80 acres that were purchased by deed on June 15, 1848, and consisted of Daniel, his wife Catherine, and thirteen children: nine sons and four daughters. The family lived on the property until 1866, when it was sold after Daniel’s death.

The Welty Barn has a timber-frame with load-bearing masonry construction. The barn represents a time in Wisconsin’s history when wheat production was the king crop; threshing barns have become a rare property type. The Welty Barn is significant in architecture as a good and intact example of a Grundscheier or “ground barn.” It is the only known example of this building type in Wisconsin and one of few remaining stone threshing barns in the state. 

Additional information for the Welty Barn is available at:

https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2770

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: https://wisconsinhistory.org/hp/register/

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.