The Glidden barn has remained solid throughout its years of usage for livestock, horses, barbed wire manufacture, and storage. It provides us with a priceless link to our past and evokes images of our agricultural roots and the pioneer spirit upon which our communities are based today. The Glidden Homestead is fundraising to make the barn safe and usable for exhibits, programming space, and storage possibilities. Please consider making a donation to support this ongoing project.
CURRENT PROJECTS
The Homestead is fundraising to install/reinforce support posts, remove concrete flooring, and install wood plank flooring. This will make the barn usable. This project has a price tag of approximately $14,000.
We are fundraising for window restoration (the barn has 14 windows and 7 horse stall “nose” windows!) To historically restore these windows will cost $2,000 each.
Please contact 815-756-7904 or email jessi@gliddenhomestead.org to learn more about the ongoing barn restoration. We are grateful for your support.
HISTORY
The Glidden red-brick barn quietly nestled on the Homestead site behind bustling business properties is one of the most historically significant barns in the country. It is the site where Joseph Glidden invented and initially manufactured the first practical barbed wire that became known as “The Winner.” Glidden's first barbed wire manufacturing office was located in the southeast corner of the barn.
The Glidden barn is also significant as one of the oldest barns left standing in DeKalb County. It's architecture reflects the German tradition and is built of local bricks with transverse frame and post-and-beam construction. The foundation is made of locally quarried limestone. There were fourteen eight-paned double-hung windows and seven single-pane windows for luxurious livestock lodging. Originally, there were two large arched entrances, seven stalls, a large haymow, gable, hayhood, and a dirt or wooden plank floor.
Your gift is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The Joseph F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center is filed with the Internal Revenue Service as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, EIN #36b040683.