The Forestry Forum

On my trip to and from Mississippi I noticed dozens of these structures in the expansive basically treeless farm lands of Illinois. All pretty much of the same design and size. Certainly not barns as they were quite smallish compared to a typical barn.


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 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/20170120_091923.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1484922315)

Grain storage is my guess

Corn cribs, for storing it on the ear.  Cribs on each side of the barn with an alley down the middle for equipment.  Woulda had an elevator to the house on top.  Chutes direct it down from there

Most had bins above the center alley for small grain storage as well. Grain elevators were used up the outside and inserted into the cupola, or like the one on Dad's farm, had a cup elevator in the center alley. Ours also had drag openings in the center of each side in the concrete. Wood boards covered the troughs, and were pulled up when the ear corn was emptied as you went. Much less scooping in our style compared to the ones where you had to scoop all the corn towards the center alley. When we switched to combines for corn, we put louvered steel panels around the outside to store shelled corn. It took a lot more structure and steel cables inside to handle the extra weight. Basically useless these days, although I do know a few guys that air dry lumber inside them. You can't stack up a lot of lumber because there is a TON of X bracing inside.

I'm in IL and you are right, there are lots of them still standing and unused.  Now they are hotels for coons and turkey vultures.  Gary