Ben Colter Polygonal Barn, Pleasant Mills Indiana

Date added: April 09, 2023 Categories: Indiana Barn Round Barn

The Ben Colter (Reinhart) six-sided barn is located in rural Adams County, near Pleasant Mills, Indiana, just off of SR 101 and is surrounded by large, mature trees and an open field to the east. The barn is a direct link to the agricultural development that occurred in the state from 1850 to 1936 (and beyond) and has changed little since its construction c.1907 with the exception of the hog barn attachments that were added in 1915. By 1936, round and polygonal barns were considered obsolete and the last round structure was built in the state to replace a 1915 round barn that had burned (Grant County, Richland Township, extant).

The owner and builder of the barn was Ben Colter, a local banker, school teacher and saw mill operator. Mr. Colter built the house in 1900, followed by the barn and other outbuildings in this rural location only a few miles from the Ohio border. Legend has it that Colter constructed the walls of the barn on the ground and then hoisted them into place with a post placed in the barn's center, in the midst of the central wood stave silo. Colter housed horses on the lower level south, cattle on the lower level east, sheep on the lower level north, storage on the lower level west and the upper level was a hay mow for hay and straw.

Ben Colter added hog barns on the east in 1915 and created more storage space for animals in addition to a drive-through from north to south. Although this was a change to the original structure, the additions have acquired significance of their own through time. Ben Colter and his family retained ownership of the farm and barn until 1940 when the property was sold to Mae Musser. Ms. Musser maintained the barn until selling to Glen Everett in the 1980s. Everett in turn sold the barn and surrounding property to Ray and Nancy Reinhart in 1989.

The Colter Barn illustrates that the construction of polygonal barns continued even after the appearance of the circular barn in agricultural construction. The belief that central-plan barns improved farming efficiency remained popular until the mid-1930s. However, many farmers did not build circular barns to avoid patent infringements. The Colter barn illustrates how the building technology of balloon framing, first introduced to centralized barn construction with circular barns, continued to be used in later polygonal barns to open up the interior.

The Ben Colter (Reinhart) barn was one of three six-sided barns that were constructed in the state of Indiana. The other two were built in Morgan County's Washington Township and Putnam County's Franklin Township. The Morgan County example is still standing while the Putnam County barn has been torn down. Like the Colter barn, the Morgan County example has had its original roof replaced by asphalt shingle.

The Colter (Reinhart) barn is thus a rare example of a polygonal barn, being one of the two remaining examples of the hexagonal shape. Interestingly, only three of the 119 round and polygonal structures built in the state were hexagons, with all three being built after the turn of the century and maybe a response to skirting patent rights that were newly conferred on Littleton, McNamee and Duncan (1905).

Barn Description

The Ben Colter (Reinhart) six-sided barn is located in rural Adams County, near Pleasant Mills, Indiana, just off of SR 101 and is surrounded by large, mature trees and an open field to the east. Built c.1907 by Ben Colter, the barn is reached via a short gravel drive off SR 101 and the site is completed by a garage and house, both located south of the barn.

The six-sided, two-storied barn with the long axis oriented north/south, is topped by a sectional cone roof and a six-sided silo that penetrates the roof and becomes ae cupola. The silo/cupola is then capped by a sectional cone roof. There is a drive-through shed attached to the south side of the barn, which at first glance, gives the barn a rectangular look. This shed is actually composed of two parts with the eastern or rear portion sloping from the main roof and the western half reaching only the story and one-half height. Both shed roof sections' slope gradually until approximately five feet from the south edge of the barn when the slopes are dramatically increased. Apparently, the sheds were added at the same time, sometime around 1915 and were constructed as hog shelters. The original balloon frame construction is anchored by poured concrete pilings and the floor is dirt.

The roof surfaces of the cupola/silo, main barn and shed are covered in asphalt shingles that replace the original wood shingle roof. There is a slight overhang to the eaves which reveal the exposed rafters of the roofing system. The wall surfaces are covered in the original vertical wood siding that is in good condition.

The main facade or west elevation is composed of a large central doorway on the west face of the hexagon and a smaller doorway centered on the attached shed. It should be noted that the juncture of the hexagonal barn and the attached shed is very smooth and not readily apparent. Both of these openings are covered with large sliding doors mounted on overhead tracks, with the doors themselves being composed of vertical wood planks that match the barn's walls.

Continuing to the south facade, there is a small sliding door on the west end of this elevation, again composed of the typical vertical wood siding. There are no other openings on the south facade. The east elevation is made up of the shed and the east side of the hexagon, which is similar to the west facade. Like the west, the juncture of hexagon and shed is a smooth line but unlike the west, the doorway through the shed becomes a large, uncovered opening. The west side of the hexagon contains one small, human-sized opening centered on the wall surface. There is infill siding around this doorway, apparently repair work to replace damaged siding.

The northeast side of the hexagon contains another large opening that is off-center to the southeast. This opening, extending over one story in height, probably was covered by a sliding door but the door is no longer present. Finally, the northwest facade contains no openings.

The interior of the barn is unusual and interesting, like the exterior configuration. The balloon frame construction is immediately visible with stick lumber comprising the walls, coupled with square posts at the juncture of each of the six wall sections. The floor joists of the upper level are also revealed, running from east to west and supported at the barn's center by the silo and surrounding posts. The roofing system is also composed of stick lumber and was originally sheathed in lath and wood shingles. Central support for the roof is offered by the silo with the roof rafters terminating in order for the silo to penetrate the roof.

Entering the lower level via the large door on the northeast and moving around the structure counter-clockwise, there are bins built into the wall of the northwest, followed by the doorway on the west, a solid wall on the _ southwest, a door on the southwestern end of the southeast wall, the small door on the west and finally, the large entrance door. The center of the area is occupied by the circular wooden stave silo that is surrounded by a feed alley and four support posts on the north side. There are pens located from the silo to the south walls while the area north of the silo is left relatively open. The shed on the south is divided into two areas, the drive-through on the north and pens on the south. Originally, the south side housed horses, the east sheltered cattle, the north contained sheep and hogs were placed in the southern sheds.

The upper level is reached by way of a ladder that is located next to the support posts just north of the silo. Ascending the ladder to the upper level reveals an interesting arrangement of floor heights. The area just inside of the northeast door is open, facilitating the loading and unloading of hay to the hay mow on the upper level and thus explaining the extra height of the northeast door. Suspended on poles above the open space and located some four feet higher is more upper level hay storage area. This higher floor area extends roughly from the midpoint of the barn to the west walls. All of the upper levels were originally intended for the storage of hay and straw.

Most of the interior fabric of the Colter (Reinhart) barn is still present although the structure is mainly used for storage today. So few changes have occurred that it is possible to envision what this barn must have been like over eighty years ago.