National and State Registers of Historic Places
Thornburg Barn
County Road A, 1/2m west of D Road
Utica (Ness County)
Listed in National Register
Apr 8, 2009
Architect: Thornburg, Wallie O., Builder
Category: agricultural outbuilding; animal facility
Thematic Nomination: Historic Agriculture Related Resources of Kansas
The Thornburg Barn located northwest of Utica is notably distinguished not only by its roof form but also by the techniques used in its construction. The barn was built in 1929 from a Sears Roebuck Company mail-order kit upon a hand-formed concrete block foundation. The catalog also provided the recipe for the foundations and floors. The foundation blocks have a rusticated stone face finish and were created on-site using a block machine. A reprint of the 1919 Sears Roebuck Book of Barns includes models similar to the Thornburg Barn, namely the "Country Gentleman Modern Barn".
