Barns of Wisconsin

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Written by Jerry Apps
Photography by Steve Apps

A glorious and loving tribute to the iconic symbol of agriculture and rural life in America's Dairyland, as told by one of our greatest storytellers.

224 pages, 8 x 10, 160 color and b&w photos
Hardcover: $29.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-453-1
Ebook: $19.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-519-4
Publication Date: 7/28/2010

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Front cover of Barns of Wisconsin by Jerry Apps

Description

Rectangular or round, fieldstone or wood, gable- or gambrel-roofed—barns of all shapes, sizes, and styles dot the rural landscapes of Wisconsin, harking back to a time when people grew their own food and maintained intimate connections to the land. In this classic work, renowned rural historian Jerry Apps shares his unique perspective on the great barns of Wisconsin. Digging deep as both an enthusiast and a farmer, Apps reaps a story of change: from the earliest pioneer structures to the low steel buildings of modern dairy farms, barns have adapted to meet the needs of each generation. They’ve housed wheat, tobacco, potatoes, and dairy cows, and they display the optimism, ingenuity, hard work, and practicality of the people who tend land and livestock.

Featuring more than 100 stunning full-color photographs by Steve Apps, plus dozens of historic images, Barns of Wisconsin illuminates a vanishing way of life while encouraging us to cherish and preserve these cultural landmarks. The book explores myriad barn designs, always with an eye to the history and craftsmanship of the Norwegians, Germans, Swiss, Finns, and others who built and used them. Barns of Wisconsin captures both the iconic and the unique, including historic and noteworthy barns, and discusses the disappearance of barns from our landscape and preservation efforts to save these important symbols of American agriculture.

As Richard Cates Jr. writes in the book's foreword, "Europe may have its cathedrals, but Wisconsin's story is warmly told through its glorious barns." And nobody tells that story better than Jerry Apps.

Author Bio

Celebrated storyteller and rural historian Jerry Apps was born and raised on a central Wisconsin farm. He was a former county extension agent and professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Apps authored more than fifty fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, including Every Farm Tells a Story: A Tale of Farm Family Values, The Quiet Season: Remembering Country Winters, When the White Pine Was King, and Old Farm: A History, all published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

“Amid wonderful illustrations and photographs, Jerry Apps has added beautiful prose about barns and the people who built and used them. This updated 'Barns of Wisconsin' is a real treasure and presents a wonderful historical perspective on a state icon.

Larry Meiller

Wisconsin Public Radio

“More than a book about barns, Apps offers us a unique lens through which to view the rich textures and constant changes in Wisconsin rural life. Barns of Wisconsin is as lovingly crafted as the iconic structures that are its subject. This new edition helped me discover more about my own barns and more fully imagine the lives of those who built them.”

—Dena Wortzel, Executive Director, Wisconsin Humanities Council

”[Jerry Apps’] approach will be interesting and informative to the barn owner, the history buff, and the preservationist. . . . Barns of Wisconsin will also be a useful reference for preservation groups all over North America.”

—Bill Kimball, Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University

”Jerry Apps has given a voice to rural Wisconsin’s architectural elders and the stories they have to tell—stories well worth remembering.”

—Doug Miller, Executive Director, Folklore Village

“Jerry Apps brings these old barns back to life and keeps them breathing by telling their stories. They are all unique representations of the many different heritages that were brought to Wisconsin, such as the German-designed stone barn in the Town of Chase. Jerry gives these barns a voice and takes you back in time to experience the hardships and joys of life on the farm as if you were there.”

—Christopher Jaworski and Kristin Kolkowski, Chase Stone Barn Committee

“Barns are the ‘heartbeat’ of a farm family's heritage values, and dreams. Jerry Apps has captured their stories and the need for preservation.”

—Dr. Clarence C. Olson, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin Dairy Science