McCORDSVILLE — The energy was high and the farm was packed to the brim with people as the Littleton/Kingen Round Barn held an open house on Aug. 10.
Cars were lined up and down the two long driveways, parking spilling onto the nearby road while vintage cars and tractors lined the eastern side of the barn as McCordsville’s Regular Burgers sold hamburgers and hot dogs to visitors who made their way through the two-story historical site.
The site suffered damage during an EF-1 tornado that hit the area in February of last year. At the time, nearly every building on the farm had seen some kind of damage from the heavy winds, as had the fields, but walking around on Saturday, the farm looked as sturdy as ever.
The barn’s owner, Gary Kingen, says that the barn, which has been in his family for generations, took most of last year to fix, with the process beginning in April and not finishing until almost Thanksgiving. Kingen says that he wanted to open up the barn for the day so the community could see it, but was shocked by the turnout that they ended up having.
“It’s been amazing, I didn’t expect anything like this,” Kingen said of the turnout. While the farm has hosted several festivals in the past, they had nowhere near the amount of people come as Saturday’s open house.
As Kingen and his family stood outside the barn, countless old friends and acquaintances came up to greet him as kids darted around them to look at the old vehicles to the east.
Kingen says the historical marker isn’t that important to him, as the barn’s significance lies in the family ties he has to it.
“My great-grandpa moved out here in 1903,” he said. “The barn was brand new, and we’ve been farming this dirt ever since.”
He went on to say that, following the open house, the barn would be returning to full-time farm storage.
The public was invited to tour the Round Barn in McCordsville, the first time since heavy winds damaged the historic structure. Saturday, August 10, 2024.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
