From the original farm site north of 245th Street to a new home and foundation on 255th Street a bit west of Swallow Avenue, the barn made the entire trip between the two sites cross country over the fields.

Matt and Libby Mitchell are the proud new owners of the structure.

“We’ve talked about it for a long time,” he said. “We want it back to looking and working the way it did originally.”

She has plans beyond that.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Matt Mitchell keeps a careful eye on his barn Thursday morning as crews from Vote House Moving, of Bradgate, drive the structure to its new site.

“We’ll put some cows and pigs in it,” she said.

Matt Mitchell knows how much work he’s in for. He’s already restored two other barns. He frequently works with friends Myles Propst, of Fort Dodge, and Alex Stewart, of Callender.

While he knows the build date, he’s not sure yet who constructed it, although a clue was left behind.

“We’ll try to figure out who,” Matt Mitchell said. “There’s a board with names we’re going to look over when we set it down.”

There are probably a thousand stories that could be told from its hundred-plus years of life.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Prairie Energy Cooperative lineman Wes Held works on taking down a powerline Thursday morning along 245th Street so Matt and Libby Mitchell’s barn can pass by and onto a nearby field during its move.

“If it could only talk,” he said.

His neighbors easily gave their blessing to the barn being driven over their fields.

“There’s too many good neighbors to list,” he said. “They’ve all been great.”

Restoring the barn will be a labor of love.

“It’s been on the horizon over 100 years,” he said. “To tear it down or burn it would have been a tragedy.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Matt and Libby Mitchell look under the underside of their newly acquired barn Thursday morning as it sits on a special truck for moving buildings.

Traces of its use remained inside.

“The whole loft was a quarter full,” he said. “We pitched it all with a pitchfork.”

The moving process was done by Vote House Moving, of Bradgate. It’s all a low, slow and careful process. The barn was braced, steel support beams put into place, the building was lifted up then driven carefully across the fields. Once at the new farm, it was set back down to be slid into place on a new foundation.

Mitchell had prepared the field path by driving a blade over it to smooth out the field ruts.

Much of his family gathered to watch the slow motion drive.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Vote House Movers, of Bradgate, drive a 1915 vintage barn across a field south of 245th Street Thursday morning on its trip to a new site on 255th Street. Matt and Libby Mitchell, who recently purchased it, will be restoring the structure.

Among those was his dad, David Mitchell, who was enjoying watching the process and in complete approval of the project.

“Why do this?” he asked. “For the love of old things and to save some of Iowa.”

The Mitchells were also able to get help from the Iowa Barn Foundation. Matt Mitchell said it paid for about half the moving costs.

As the barn pulled up next to the new foundation, he still had getting it into place to watch, which he did a bit nervously.

“I haven’t slept in a year and a half,” he joked.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
A member of the Vote House Moving crew directs the driver of the moving truck Thursday morning as the barn arrives at its new foundation.

After the barn was driven into place, there was an important old farm tradition to follow. A big hearty meal of homemade food inside the wood heated shop building.

And yes, there was homemade pie.

Crews will be lowering the barn onto the foundation this morning.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
A bit of straw hangs about one of the windows in the 1915 built barn.