The Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn has been selected by the Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN) as a 2021 Barn of the Year.

The Barn of the Year program honors Michigan barns that exemplify outstanding character in our state. Over the past two decades, a total of 90 barns from across Michigan have been recognized for their unique qualities and/or preservation efforts.

Leelanau County’s Poor Farm Barn was saved from potentially being demolished and is now in the care of the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS), which took on a 25-year lease for the barn (for $1.00 per year) from the county and the stewardship task of its rehabilitation. 

There will be an outdoor dedication event at the Poor Farm Barn, on County Road 616 in Maple City’s Kasson Township, Thursday, May 20 at 4pm. The public is invited.

MBPN has selected five barns to receive the Barn of the Year designation. Barns in this year’s winner’s circle include those still being used for agricultural purpose as well as those adapted to new uses. The 2021 winners are: the Eisenmann Party Barn in Palmyra; Concordia Hills Barn in Farwell, Dickerson Barn in Plymouth; Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn in Maple City; and the Yellow Horse Farms Barn in Pellston.

“This is an annual competition statewide and it is quite an honor to be selected,” says LCHPS’s Laurel Jeris. “This award will increase the visibility of our project and surely will be an important stop for visitors to Leelanau County who are interested in historic features and cultural tourism.

Adds LCHPS President Steve Stier, “Saving the Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn is important not just because it is nearly 110 years old, but also because it represents a history of the county’s priorities going back to its inception in 1863.”

Leelanau's Poor Farm — the original homestead where the barn still stands today — began when Leelanau County bought a Maple City farm in 1901 to house residents who could not care for themselves and provide them the opportunity to engage in meaningful agriculture and domestic work. The remaining barn is now part of the county-owned Myles Kimmerly Recreation Area.

Stier adds, “The Poor Farm Barn is a living artifact of importance as it represents the stories of our societal and agricultural roots. Leelanau County Commissioners and citizen groups have struggled with how the Poor Farm Barn could be used for decades. The best ideas for use may not be known now, but will become apparent in the future, if it is saved. 

“The stories of the architect, the builder, the caretakers, the residents, and the nearby farmers that helped with the farming have all been discovered in the saving of this important artifact,” he says.

When asked why the Poor Farm Barn rose to the top, Chairman of the Awards Committee Keith Anderson shared with the Leelanau Ticker, “Michigan's iconic timber-frame barns — which are our most visible symbol of our great agricultural past — are disappearing at an alarming rate. It was only through the intervention of concerned citizens of Leelanau County that the Poor Farm barn was saved from certain demolition. It is an exceptional story of barn preservation."  

This is the second consecutive year a Leelanau County barn was named barn of the year. 

See more about each of the awardees here. 

Photo: Laurel Jeris