Strong winds Thursday may have finished off what Mother Nature began last month on a century-old round barn on Saginaw Road south of Joplin.
DeAnn Kolkmeyer said wind gusts caused the second floor of the barn owned by her family to further collapse. The building had taken a weather-related hit in March, when a late-season snowstorm proved too much for a portion of the roof.
“It’s falling down as we speak,” Kolkmeyer said Thursday. “And the more it collapses, the more it’s going to collapse.
In the wake of the snowstorm, the Kolkmeyers had been working with the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation and the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau to raise money to save the barn, with the goal of having it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kolkmeyer said the barn is one of only a handful of round barns left in the state.
The National Weather Service station in Springfield reported Thursday that the area experienced sustained winds of 35 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph.
“We’re just going to have to try and get bids to dismantle the barn, or if it collapses on its own, we’ll see if we can salvage the lumber and sell it,” Kolkmeyer said. “There’s just nothing else we can do. The damage is just so extensive.”
Construction of the barn began about 1909 or 1910 and took three years to complete, according to Kolkmeyer.
James Cox, son of John C. Cox, built the barn after obtaining the land from his father. John Cox was an early pioneer and is considered the father of Joplin.
Timber was cut from sycamore trees on the farm and milled through a sawmill on the farm, Kolkmeyer said. The roof was constructed of oak shake shingles, according to her husband, David Kolkmeyer.
“I was kind of led to believe there were funds out there for this kind of project,” she said. “But we would have to depend on private contributions, and I’m not real comfortable with that in this economy.”
DeAnn Kolkmeyer said it would cost between $150,000 and $200,000 to repair the damage from the snowstorm. The additional damage from the wind leaves the family with no other option, she said.
Soaked in spring
To obtain curves in the timber for the round barn, inch-thick boards were soaked in a nearby spring, known as James Cox Spring, according to DeAnn Kolkmeyer.
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Strong winds on Thursday did further damage to the landmark round barn in Saginaw, putting an end to the plan to save the structure. Globe/Garry Jeffries
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Wind causes further collapse at Saginaw Road round barn
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