A Piece of History

When we built The Homestead we wanted it to reflect the history of an Iowa farmstead. We knew that to take a new building and create history would be a challenge, but we incorporated several details to accomplish this.
One of the details is in our Cider House lounge. Hanging on the large stone wall you see an oil painting of a red barn. To most, this is just a picture, but to the King family and those that remember the King family farm, this is a treasure.

The King family farm is located just south of Fairbank, IA. In fact the city limits borders the farm. The barn was built in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s and was a place of work and play.

In 1984, the entire barn was torn down except for the tile silo. The silo to this day remains as a reminder to where the barn once stood. It was and still is the target for many walnuts that are thrown every time family visits.

A family friend, Lois Maricle painted the picture the year the barn was torn down. While painting the picture she realized that the foreground of the picture needed “something”. So you will see a furry dog standing in front of the hay wagon. Taffy, Tom’s dog, was just the “something” that was needed. Taffy was your typical farm dog who everyone loved.

Boards from this barn can be found on the walls of the Country Junction Restaurant in Dyersville, IA.

The next time you visit The Homestead, make sure you stop in the Cider House and see a little of our family history.