National and State Registers of Historic Places
Thoes, Peter, Barn
25709 Hessdale Road
Alma (Wabaunsee County)
Listed in National Register
Oct 30, 2013
Architect: N/A
Category: agricultural outbuilding
Thematic Nomination: Historic Agriculture Related Resources of Kansas
Early Wabaunsee County settler Peter Thoes established his home and farmstead shortly after the Kansas Territory opened for settlement in 1854. It was near the Pottawatomi Indian Reserve, which at that time occupied about one-third of what is now Wabaunsee County. It was one of a cluster of properties that took root before the Civil War and the founding of Alma, and even vied for the location of the county seat. Thoes lived on and farmed this same property until his death in 1894. The sprawling and iconic barn on Thoes' property was built in phases from the late 1870s to the early 1890s. It is situated on a farmstead that includes Thoes' stone residence and a few later outbuildings, which are owned separately from the nominated barn. The house burned in 1922, was partially rebuilt, but has been altered considerably in recent years and is not eligible for listing in the National Register; the barn is the primary extant resource associated with Thoes. The barn was nominated as part of the Historic Agriculture-Related Resources of Kansas multiple property nomination in the areas of agriculture and exploration/settlement for its association with Peter Thoes.
