Bendfeld

History

This barn was built in 1918 by Bernard Bendfeld with the help of a local construction company. The barn was originally used as a shelter for horses and milk cows. The loft of the barn was used for hay and straw storage. Bernard Bendfeld emigrated from Germany to the US in 1901. He homesteaded the quarter of land this barn stands on in 1904. The Feddema brothers filed for the land on Bernard’s behalf. Their barn is also featured in this database.

In 1965, Raymond Bendfeld, the youngest son of the late Bernard Bendfeld, took over this farmstead. He and his wife, Leona, used the barn for milking cows. They also added pig pens and a pen for chickens inside the western shed of the barn. Additionally, this barn was occasionally used for calving. The loft of the barn was always used by Raymond for hay and straw storage. A “few” baseballs went through the barn windows in Raymond’s rea, so they are not all original.

In 2000, the farmstead was purchased by Brent and Denise Bendfeld. When their two children were young, the family sometimes raised chickens, sheep, and goats inside the barns. Now the barn is mainly used for storage of hay bales and other items. Brent and Denise had the roof of the barn tinned in 2003 and the outside walls tinned in 2006. Many of the barn’s windows and doors were covered with tin at this time. However, beneath the tin, these features still exist and can be exposed in the future if desired. The interior of the barn remains mostly untouched since its initial construction

Bendfeld, Denise. Personal communication. 31 Aug. 2017.

Bendfeld, Brent and Denise. Wagon Trails in the Sod: A History of the Heisler Area: Volume II. 1st ed. Heisler: Heisler Community Historical Society, 2017, pg. 616. Print.

This frame shows the southern face of the barn.

This frame shows the southern face and eastern side of the barn.

This frame shows a close-up of the loft door on the southern face of the barn.

This frame shows the eastern side of the barn. The Bendfelds installed man-doors where the sliding barn door used to be.

This frame shows the eastern side and northern face of the barn.

This frame shows the northern face of the barn. The Bendfelds covered up all of the windows and doors on this frame of the barn.

This frame shows the northern face and western side of the barn.

This frame shows the western side of the barn.

This frame shows the western side and southern face of the barn.

This frame shows the northern side of the inside of the barn. The door in the left aspect of this frame is the entry into the chicken coop. The chicken coop is the south-western corner of the barn.

This frame shows the northern set of stalls. These used to be horse stalls but were changed into pig pens by Raymond Bendfeld.

This frame shows the staircase to the loft in the south-eastern corner of the barn.

This frame shows the east-west walk-way between the horse and milk cow stalls. At the end of this corridor, is the feed chute in the milk cow holding area.

This frame shows the east-west walk-way in the milking area of the barn. The closed door-way in the background of this frame is on the western side of the barn in the shed addition. The shed addition was used to feed cows.

This frame shows one of the milking stalls complete with metal stanchions.

This frame shows the east-west walk-way in the northern end of the barn. These walk-ways were used to bring feed to the milk cows.

This frame shows the pen inside the shed. The northern end of the shed was used to hold cows.

This frame shows the feed chute and roof of the shed addition.

The Bendfeld farmstead painted on a cream can.

Location

52.681988, -112.130915 NW 04-43-15 W4

Characteristics

Barn Condition: Good

Construction Date: 1918

Features: Hay hood, hay track, hay carrier

Roof Shape: Gambrel

Paint: Red

Decorations: The year of construction is on the southern face of the barn

Roof Covering: Metal

Siding: Metal

Foundation: Concrete

Additional History on the Property

Bernard Bendfeld Family History

“Bendfeld, Bernard”. Wagon Trails in the Sod: A History of Heisler and Area: Volume I. 1st ed. Heisler: Heisler Historical Society, 1982. Print.

Brent and Denise Bendfeld Family History

“Bendfeld, Brent and Denise”. Wagon Trails in the Sod: A History of Heisler and Area: Volume II. 1st ed. Heisler: Heisler Historical Society, 1982. Print.