Wilson Barn
Wilson Barn
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Location | NE corner of Middlebelt and W. Chicago Rds., Livonia, Michigan |
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Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Area | 4.8 acres (1.9 ha) |
Built | 1888 |
Architect | John H. Paterson |
Architectural style | Bank Barn |
NRHP Reference # | 73000962[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 12, 1973 |
Designated MSHS | November 15, 1973[2] |
The Wilson Barn (also known as the Ira Wilson Dairy Barn) is a barn located at the northeast corner of Middlebelt and W. Chicago Roads in Livonia, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973.[1][2]
History
Ira Wilson was born in 1867, and began his career in dairy farming at an early age, working on the farm owned by his family since 1847.[2] He built a barn on this site in 1888; in 1919 the barn burned and he built the present structure on the foundations of the earlier barn.[2] Wilson eventually established a million-dollar dairy, creamery, and trucking business, the Ira Wilson & Sons Dairy,[2] and served for two terms as Wayne County sheriff.[3] Wilson died in 1944, and the lower level of the barn was converted for use as a horse stable in the same year.[2]
As of 2011, the Wilson Barn is managed by "The Friends of the Barn," a volunteer group.[4]
Description
The barn is a post-and-beam structure faced with wood siding, resting on a stone foundation and having a gambrel roof.[2] A silo made of dark brown, glazed tile is attached to the barn.[2]