Located in Van Buren County, Iowa in the small town of
Cantril, the Wickfield Farms Sales Pavilion is surely the
most storied round barn in all of Iowa. Built in 1918, the Wickfield Pavilion is 52 feet in diameter and has three stories and a half-basement. And just wait until you read how much room is packed into this structure! Frank Silvers started his hog operation in 1914. Wickfield Farms became the largest Hampshire hog farm in the world and could feed 1500 hogs at one time. The hogs raised on the farm were sold in the round barn pavilion; about 3500 hogs were sold here per year. The sales arena in this pavilion sat 700 people!
The half-basement has four rooms—a dining room which
tightly sat 36 guests; a kitchen; a furnace room; and a pantry/fruit cellar. In
the furnace room was a big bath for Lookout Lad, one of the only Hampshire hogs
not for sale. Lookout Lad was like a mascot for the Wickfield Pavilion. Buyers
looked forward to seeing him being paraded around the place. You can imagine
him being brought into the basement through the basement door to the cheers of
those in the dining room, then through the kitchen to be cleaned up in his bath
before going upstairs to the sales arena. Patrons said that Lookout Lad was
cleaner than the farmhands!
The
first floor was the sales arena. The hogs were brought in through double doors
to an 8-foot by 8-foot holding area. Auctioneers called the bids from a small
balcony above.
On the second floor, around a central hall, were eight
pie-shaped sleeping rooms for workers and hog buyers. A few rooms were smaller
than others to allow for stairways up and down, but each room had a dormer
window. During multi-day sales, each room slept about ten people!
The third floor had four more sleeping rooms and also
served as a card room and social parlor, complete with a dance floor.
Unfortunately, Wickfield Farms was short-lived as a
successful business. Like many farms, it went bankrupt during the Great
Depression.
Wickfield Pavilion
National Historic Register - 1986
Perhaps no barn in Iowa has as colorful a history as
Cantril's famed round barn. At one time or another, it was a sales pavilion, a
packing plant, dormitory and, believe it or not, was raided as a
"speakeasy" during prohibition days.
Built in 1918 on the Wickfield farm at a cost of
$20,000, it became known as the largest Hampshire hog farm in the world with
some 1500 hogs being fed at once.
The barn had 8 dormers on the lower part of the roof
and 4 on the second part. The basement complex was beautifully equipped for
humans with a dining room and kitchen. . also, a furnace room, an electric
lighting plant, and a fruit cellar. The ground floor was a sales pavilion, and
the loft contained eight dormitory rooms for workers and for overnight guests.
The crow's nest was a card room and social parlor.
Fifty-two feet in diameter, the structure is 65 feet
tall.
Wickfield Farms usually held two auctions each year,
some lasting up to three months. Steep bidding was part of the spectacle. One
animal sold for a whopping $5,000. Many hogs were displayed at shows in the
Midwest, and in 1923 their record included 6 grand champions, 12 champions and
59 firsts. Cash winnings topped $2,300. Two famous hogs were Lookout Lad and
Lieutenant Wickware.
The final curtain fell in the mid-'20s when the farm
economy turned sour, the farm was finally sold to individuals outside the
family. The barn was later used for recreation and later storage.
Contact
17451 260th St
Keosauqua, IA 52565
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