Unique Round Barn

Unique Round Barn

Unique Round Barn – This is Ryan’s Round Barn in Illinois, it is one of 42 round barns in existence. They have a great campground by this barn. We visited here quite a few years ago.

Nestled on a knoll near the entrance of the 1,361-acre Johnson Sauk Trail State Park, Ryan’s Round Barn was the brainstorm and pet project of a turn-of-the-century Chicago brain surgeon named Lawrence P. Ryan.

Unique Round Barn

The industrious doctor deviated from the standard square barn design that dotted the countryside and built a round barn.

Unique Round Barn

Ryan’s barn is a three-level, domed-ceiling structure built on a slope so that the first and second floors are easily accessible from the outside at ground level. Built by carpenters who specialized in round barn construction, it measures 80 feet tall and 85 feet in diameter. 

Unique Round Barn

Unique Round Barn

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

26 Replies to “Unique Round Barn”

    1. Yes, I had to add it to my barn collection. It wasn’t open when we were there. My husbands grandfather used to take the kids there to camp when he was little. Wonderful park.

  1. I took pictures of this as they were making it. I always wondered what it was going to be. It’s nice to actually know what lies inside this beautiful unique barn.

    1. How cool is that. When I read the history of the man who built it and why, it made a lot of sense with his cattle business. There are new high tech round barns out there now for the milk cows I read about, so the idea is still in use.

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