This German immigrant had big ideas. The
three-story Pottawattamie barn, designed by Detlef David Guttau, was built in
1890. It’s like a three-story house except it’s a barn. Note the multiple
windows on all three levels. The top level was for hay, with a hay door on the
east side. The second level had stalls for 16 horses and space for carriages.
The ground level had six stanchions for dairy cattle and later used until 2012
for beef cattle.
It
was featured in Blog #61 (11/13/22) but an update will emphasize its continuing
importance in the history of Iowa barns. It was first re-painted in 1946, again
in 2000, and lastly in 2025. The most recent paint job makes it look as if it
was just built yesterday. All that is missing now are horses and cattle.
The
Cedar-shingle roof on the south side, visible here was replaced in 1955,
sixty-five years after it was built, and the north side replaced with a metal
roof in 1980. Concrete blocks replaced the original limestone foundation in the
1980s and other major repairs were made in the early 2000s.
The barn for hogs, above, built in 1927,
was in use until 1989 for 30 sows bred twice a year, with a maximum of 1400
hogs sometimes in both barns. Both the barn and hog house are used today for
storage and as homes for their resident cats.
The
fourth generation Guttau family, Gary, his wife Dee (deceased January 27, 2026)
and son Chad live here at 31082 Dogwood Rd., Treynor. The farm will be honored
by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation as a Heritage Farm (150 years in the same
family ownership) in 2027. The Guttau barns live on as outstanding examples of
Iowa’s farming heritage.