Barns are noble structures that highlight our rural landscape. They remain an enormous source of pride for the people of Wisconsin. Many realize that no other visible human achievement reflects the long relationship they have had with the land. However, little information is available regarding their history and how they were constructed. William H. Tishler, an emeritus professor of landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains the process of building these iconic structures in this book with breathtaking photos and drawings. The author highlights the traditions, carpentry skills, and backbreaking labor that have made barns a beloved component of the countryside. He also recaptures the techniques of an ancient form of construction that is rapidly becoming all but forgotten. Based on the author’s decades of teaching and field work and his conversations with elderly barn builders who shared their wealth of knowledge, this book will be treasured by those who enjoy the beauty of rural farms and landscapes, or who want to know more about this important aspect of Wisconsin’s history. It can also serve as a guide to their significance and be useful in helping preserve some of these rural icons for future generations to admire and appreciate.

Barns are noble structures that highlight our rural landscape. They remain an enormous source of pride for the people of Wisconsin. Many realize that no other visible human achievement reflects the long relationship they have had with the land. However, little information is available regarding their history and how they were constructed. William H. Tishler, an emeritus professor of landscape architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains the process of building these iconic structures in this book with breathtaking photos and drawings. The author highlights the traditions, carpentry skills, and backbreaking labor that have made barns a beloved component of the countryside. He also recaptures the techniques of an ancient form of construction that is rapidly becoming all but forgotten. Based on the author's decades of teaching and field work and his conversations with elderly barn builders who shared their wealth of knowledge, this book will be treasured by those who enjoy the beauty of rural farms and landscapes, or who want to know more about this important aspect of Wisconsin's history. It can also serve as a guide to their significance and be useful in helping preserve some of these rural icons for future generations to admire and appreciate.

In this new edition of his classic book, award-winning author Jerry Apps shares a unique perspective on the great barns of rural Wisconsin. Digging deep as both an enthusiast and a farmer, Apps reaps a story of change: from the earliest pioneer structures to the low steel buildings of modern dairy farms, barns have adapted to meet the needs of each generation. They’ve housed wheat, tobacco, potatoes, and dairy cows, and they display the optimism, ingenuity, hard work, and practicality of the people who tend land and livestock. Featuring more than 100 stunning full-color photographs by Steve Apps, plus dozens of historic images, Barns of Wisconsin illuminates a vanishing way of life. The book explores myriad barn designs—from rectangular to round, from gable roof to gambrel, from fieldstone to wood—always with an eye to the history and craftsmanship of the Norwegians, Germans, Swiss, Finns, and others who built and used them. Barns of Wisconsin captures both the iconic and the unique, including historic and noteworthy barns, and discusses the disappearance of barns from our landscape and preservation efforts to save these important symbols of American agriculture.

Drawing on the expertise of more than twenty distinguished contributors and the Historic Preservation Office of the Wisconsin Historical Society, this indispensable guide, illustrated with 300 photographs and 32 maps, surveys all of the state's major architectural styles, including exemplary works by locally important designers and nationally noted architects and a wide rage of building types, periods, and influences. Native American effigy mounds and the turtle-shaped Oneida Nation Elementary School express the rich heritage of Wisconsin's indigenous peoples. German farmhouses and mansions, Scandinavian barns, and ethnic churches and fraternal halls testify to the waves of immigration that shaped the state in the nineteenth century. Industrial buildings, company towns and planned communities, parks and historic districts, and modernist skyscrapers exemplify the progressive spirit that held sway throughout the twentieth century.

Minnesota's barns are remarkable testaments to a midwestern way of life, one centered on the land, work, family, ingenuity, and perseverance. Many think of barns as breathtaking landmarks along the byways. Others have their favorite barns--the well-kept, red dairy barn near St. Cloud, the faded horse barn on the way to Faribault. Still others know these structures more intimately: barns are as integral to their lives as family and home. In Barns of Minnesota, photographer Doug Ohman showcases the vast array of these exceptional landmarks, built by hand in wood, stone, brick, or metal and dating back as far as 1880. Where Ohman's photographs capture the beauty of the barn from the outside in, Will Weaver's evocative story illuminates the life of the barn from the inside out. Readers witness the making and breaking of one barn as it plays into the life and sustenance of several generations of one family who settled the land in 1922 and who farmed into the age of agribusiness. Seventy-five stunning color photographs accompanied by Weaver's moving story uplift these beautiful buildings and a way of life on the land that is as strong and proud, as fragile and humble, as the barns among us.

"I'm embarrassed to say I thought I knew anything substantial about Wisconsin agriculture or its history before I read this book. 'Wisconsin Agriculture' should be required reading in history classes from high school to the collegiate level. It makes me thankful that Jerry Apps has such a sense of commitment to Wisconsin's agricultural heritage--and to getting the story right." --Pam Jahnke, Farm Director, Wisconsin Farm Report Radio Wisconsin has been a farming state from its very beginnings. And though it's long been known as "the Dairy State," it produces much more than cows, milk, and cheese. In fact, Wisconsin is one of the most diverse agricultural states in the nation. The story of farming in Wisconsin is rich and diverse as well, and the threads of that story are related and intertwined. In this long-awaited volume, celebrated rural historian Jerry Apps examines everything from the fundamental influences of landscape and weather to complex matters of ethnic and pioneer settlement patterns, changing technology, agricultural research and education, and government regulations and policies. Along with expected topics, such as the cranberry industry and artisan cheesemaking, "Wisconsin Agriculture" delves into beef cattle and dairy goats, fur farming and Christmas trees, maple syrup and honey, and other specialty crops, including ginseng, hemp, cherries, sugar beets, mint, sphagnum moss, flax, and hops. Apps also explores new and rediscovered farming endeavors, from aquaculture to urban farming to beekeeping, and discusses recent political developments, such as the 2014 Farm Bill and its ramifications. And he looks to the future of farming, contemplating questions of ethical growing practices, food safety, sustainability, and the potential effects of climate change. Featuring first-person accounts from the settlement era to today, along with more than 200 captivating photographs, "Wisconsin Agriculture" breathes life into the facts and figures of 150 years of farming history and provides compelling insights into the state's agricultural past, present, and future.

A classic work on farm buildings made by nineteenth-century New Englanders refreshed with a new introduction. Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn portrays the four essential components of the stately and beautiful connected farm buildings made by nineteenth-century New Englanders that stand today as a living expression of a rural culture, offering insights into the people who made them and their agricultural way of life. A visual delight as well as an engaging tribute to our nineteenth-century forebears, this book, first published nearly forty years ago, has become one of the standard works on regional farmsteads in America. This new edition features a new preface by the author.

Originally published in 1980, Wisconsin: A Geography is a thematic study of the physical, cultural, and economic geography of the state. It is illustrated with Black and White photos, maps, architectural drawings, and economic charts. The book is a valuable survey of the state's regions.