Every year the Iowa Barn Foundation holds two Barn Tours, the All-State Barn Tour (held every September), and the Spring Barn Tour (held in June). A printed tour guide is included in our Iowa Barn Foundation Magazine, which is delivered to our member donors.
Upcoming Tours:
June 24-25, 2023 – Our spring tour will be held in Van Buren County in cooperation with the Morris Park.
September 16-17, 2023 – Our fall all-state tour will feature over 60 barns across the state.
On June 24-25, a tour of Van Buren County will take participants into some of southeast Iowa’s finest surviving wood barns. The county has a trove of classic barns, spanning 180 years of Iowa history. Many have fallen prey to weather, gravity, and changing farming practices, but painstaking preservation and restoration have saved some of the best for the use and enjoyment of future generations. Twelve barns are part of the official tour and will be open for visitors from 9-5 both days (except where noted), with an interpreter, generally the farmer himself, on site
The headquarters of the tour will be Morris Park (10938 Timber Rd, Stockport), the site of an extensive agricultural museum. The park and 12 barns are part of the official tour and will be open for visitors from 9 to 5 (except where noted). Morris Park will have activities for all ages, and lunch will be available from 11:00-2:00 on Saturday (see above for advance ticket purchase).
Activities available at Morris Park:
-Tours of the barn museum and machinery (various Friends of Morris Park)
-Timber Framing and Barn Restoration (restoration specialist Rick Collins)
-Timber Framing Demonstration (Nile and Gloria Dielschneider)
-Sustainability through Preservation (historic preservation specialist Terry Philips)
-Louden Farm Machinery and Equipment (Roger Elliott)
-Our Rural Heritage (Joe Mischka, editor of Rural Heritage)
-Lessons in a One-room School (retired theatre artist and school teacher Pamela Larson)
-Rug Weaving (Gloria Brown)
-Spinning and Weaving (fiber artist Leliani McDonald)
-Corn Grinding (Christie Daugherty)
-Hacklebarnery Horse Rides (Tony Garett)
-Life in 1838 (naturalist Chloe Profitt)
-Small Animal Demonstration (Tarver Gerig)
The demonstrations and workshops will be presented by a mix of Friends of the Park and experts provided through the Iowa Barn Foundation. All are welcome.