{"nrhp_refnum":"84001157","name":"Bruce, James, Round Barn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Freeport","address_restricted":false,"city":"Freeport","county":"Stephenson County","state":"IL","lat":42.25201639000005,"lon":-89.64923905699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A round barn near Freeport in Stephenson County, Illinois, built in 1914 by Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas brothers for George Bruce. It is 58 feet 8 inches in diameter and has a central wooden stave silo.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the last round barn known to have been built by the Shaffer and Haas team, who probably built many of Stephenson County's round barns. Its central silo and braced single-hip roof show how round barn design evolved in the area. The hipped roof adapts the earlier conical roof the team had used.","narrative":"Near Freeport in Stephenson County, Illinois, a round barn built in 1914 for George Bruce survives with its original design intact. The barn measures 58 feet 8 inches across and is clad in horizontal wooden drop siding, a locally popular type, over a poured concrete foundation. A single hip roof topped by a cupola is strengthened by paired 2 by 6 inch braces nailed to the rafters. A 12-foot wooden stave silo stands at the center and is reached from the loft. Diagonal overshoots above the south and northeast entrances give some protection from the weather. Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas brothers built it, and it is the last round barn known to come from their partnership, which probably produced many of the county's round barns. The central silo and braced hip roof show how local round barn design developed, with the hip roof adapting the earlier conical roof the team had used. Only the roofing has been replaced.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Jeremiah Shaffer and the Haas brothers","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as retaining original materials in excellent condition, with only the wooden shingles replaced by asphalt shingles and the original design intact.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.924834-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/8914/28891456/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84001157.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001157/f8a3622a75-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001157/f8a3622a75-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freeport_Il_Bruce_Round_Barn7.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">IvoShandor</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freeport_Il_Bruce_Round_Barn7.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891456","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bruce_Round_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6130386"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/stephenson-county/bruce-james-round-barn-84001157/"}