{"nrhp_refnum":"84001164","name":"Otte, Dennis, Round Barn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Eleroy","address_restricted":false,"city":"Eleroy","county":"Stephenson County","state":"IL","lat":42.333676325000056,"lon":-89.73798926899997,"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 54-foot round barn on a poured concrete foundation with horizontal wooden siding, located east of Eleroy in Stephenson County, Illinois. It was built in 1930 by Herman Altenbern for Carl Richards.","why_significant":"The barn is argued to embody the last design variation in the round barn tradition of the Stephenson County area. It matches the area's second design phase, with a squat cupola and a single-hip roof with special braces. Its salvaged materials in the loft piers, plate and flooring reflect the economies of Depression-era construction.","narrative":"Southeast of the village of Eleroy in Stephenson County, Illinois, a round barn 54 feet across was built in 1930 by Herman Altenbern for Carl Richards, whose father had already had a round barn constructed. It sits on a poured concrete foundation and has horizontal wooden siding, a single-hip roof of wooden shingles and a squat cupola. The east entrance opens at grade into a central passage that divides the interior in two. Stalls are arranged in semicircles on each side, separated by a mix of hewn and sawed posts that support a circular loft plate. Roof rafters are braced with 2-by-6 members nailed on opposite sides. The loft floor uses reclaimed material, possibly old barn siding. The barn is listed as the last design variation in the area's round barn tradition. Its reused materials reflect the economies of Depression-era construction, and its design and materials remain original.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Herman Altenbern","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The form states that the design and materials of the barn are original.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.529978-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/8914/28891458/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84001164.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001164/fc90f135c8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001164/fc90f135c8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"IvoShandor","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eleroy_Il_Otte_Round_Barn6.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:Eleroy_Il_Otte_Round_Barn6.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891458","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Otte_Round_Barn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5258821"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/stephenson-county/otte-dennis-round-barn-84001164/"}