Kienetz-Weller

History

Austin and Christine Kienetz came to the Heisler area from Minnesota in 1902. They filled for a homestead on the quarter section which this barn stands on. Austin and Christine most likely had the barn built between 1915 and 1920. A local builder and helpful neighbours would have been needed to erect the barn.

Leo Weller purchased this property in 1945 from Eloy and Ethyl Kienetz. Eloy was the son of Austin and Christine Kienetz. It is known that Leo used the barn for dairy cows and beef cattle. However, in the 1940s, it was common for farms to have many different types of livestock in order to feed the family members who lived there. As such, it is likely that the barn on this quarter also housed pigs and other small livestock. While Leo owned the barn in the 1960s, new shingles were installed on its roof.

Roger, son of Leo, and Doreen Weller took ownership of this property in the late 1960s. Roger was the last person to keep livestock inside this barn. He raised milk cows and beef cattle and so milking and calving would have occurred in the barn. He milked cows until the newly introduced milk quota turned him off that business venture. Roger kept raising beef cattle for many years after that. As such, the barn was surrounded by corrals and pasture while he owned the property. Metal cladding was installed to replaced the old roof shingles in the 1980s. Roger moved to town sometime after this and the property sat vacant for many years.

Colin Weller acquired the quarter and this barn in 2013 from his mother, Peggy Weller. He moved onto this property in 2015, after his new house was built. Colin has plans to restore the barn in the very near future.

Weller, Colin. Personal communication. 30 Aug. 2017.

Weller, Colin. Wagon Trails in the Sod: A History of the Heisler Area: Volume II. 1st ed. Heisler: Heisler Community Historical Society, 2017, pg. 684. Print.

This frame shows the western face of the barn.

This frame is a close-up of the hay hood on the western face of the barn. Notice the hay track in the peak of the barn’s roof.

This frame shows the western face and part of the northern side of the barn. Notice the white trim which accents all of the barn’s doors and windows.

This frame shows the northern half of the barn’s roof. The hay track in the peak of the barn’s roof is more noticeable from this angle.

This frame shows the northern half of the barn’s roof and the eastern face of the barn.

This frame shows the eastern face and southern half of the barn’s roof.

This frame shows the southern half of the barn’s roof. Notice the different placement of the loft door on the southern side as compared to the northern side of the barn. Additionally, this side of the barn has five windows whereas the northern side only has four.

This frame shows the southern half of the barn’s roof and the western face of the barn.

This frame shows the east-west walk-way inside the barn. This photo was taken whilst standing in the western doorway while looking east. In the top of this frame, one can see the tubing for the vacuum milking machine.

This frame shows the northern set of stalls. The corner in this frame is the north-eastern corner of the barn. Wooden boards were laid on the floor of this barn to level the walk-way but the dirt beneath it has settled.

This frame shows the eastern half of the southern stalls. This frame was taken while standing in the eastern doorway looking south-west.

This frame is a close-up of the tack racks on the southern set of posts.

This frame shows the southern half of the barn’s roof. Notice the posts which support the roof at the joint between the two slopes. The door in this frame is the bale door on the southern side of the barn.

This frame shows the hay carrier system’s platform on the eastern face of the barn. A man would need to stand on the platform to operate the hay carrier.

This frame is a close-up of the barn’s hay carrier.

This frame shows the stairway to the barn’s loft. The corner in the left aspect of this frame is the north-western corner of the barn. The door above the staircase would have been used to ferry bales into and out of the barn’s loft.