#12: Spring Hill Ranch Barn Tour Stop 2: Beginnings

Beginnings of the Spring Hill Ranch Barn at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Historic Spring Hill Ranch Barn Beginnings

Finished in early 1882 and costing around $15,000 to build, the barn is the working center of the ranch. It remains one of the largest historic limestone barns in Kansas, standing three stories tall and measuring 60 feet wide by 110 feet long. The lower floor was set up as stables for cattle and horses. The main floor stored wagons, hay, an other equipment. The upper floor was used for more hay storage, as well as for grain storage, and was large enough to accommodate entire teams of horses and wagons. These wagons entered the upper floor by driving up one ramp and exited by driving out the other ramp. A large, two-headed, 30 feet in diameter windmill was at one time attached to the barn and could generate 12 horsepower to grind grain and drive other equipment. However, it was dismantled in 1884 when high Kansas winds threatened to destroy it. An 1887 lithograph, however, draws the windmill back into its original place, between the two upper-level ramps.