James Norwood Round Barn, Ashton South Dakota
James Norwood, born in 1867 in Leday, Wisconsin, came to South Dakota from Ponca, Nebraska to Ft. Pierre in 1878. He may have gotten the idea to build his round barn from the many that appear in his native state. There are few buildings like this in the state, but they seem to have been constructed for dairy cattle. Norweve had milk cattle and sold dairy products to a creamery in Ashton from 1895 until the 1930s.
Prior to settling down as a farmer he had been involved in range work, from 1889-1895, including working for one of the state's most notable cowboys Scotty Phillips. At age 14 he began working in the freighting business (1882-1889) carrying loads from Ft. Pierre to the Black Hills. These two careers allowed Norwood to see many of the state's most colorful characters and experience the ways of western life.
During his farming years he had a herd of twenty dairy cows as well as herfords and buffalo. During the 1930s he had to work in Ashton because of drought and hard times; he ran the stockyards and later a coal business. He returned to the farm and died in 1939.
The Round Barn of James Norwood is about ten miles north of Redfield; located along a portion of Snake Creek that used to run by the farm. The building sets on a flat area in front with the terrain sloping towards the northeast. It has a two-pitch roof with a central louvered cupola. The first section contains eighty percent of the roof and has a forty-five-degree angle. The next portion resembles a lid and has a twenty-degree pitch. A loft, wall dormer with hoist is another element of the roof.
Only six small square windows appear on the horizontal wood plank facade. There is only one large double-door barn entry, however, the ramp has deteriorated. The entire 1904 structure rests upon a concrete foundation.
Along the walls of the interior are all the stalls and compartments of the barn. The first-floor central area only has six two-by-fours at the center acting as a support system. The second floors joists are exposed and radiate from the center. The second floor or roof section is free-standing with heavily ribbed walls. The entire floor space is devoid of any construction and apparently was left open to be filled with hay.
(1977)
(1977)
(1977)
(1977)
(1977)
