Posted by CC on December 28th, 2008 1:22 pm
Preservationists in Cedar Falls are mourning the loss of a historic stone barn, despite efforts to find resources to help the owner save the barn. Built in the 1800s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the barn was demolished in recent weeks. The barn has been deteriorating for a number of years.
Built by William and Charles Fields, the barn once housed prize stallions. The brothers also established the First National Bank in downtown Cedar Falls. According the Times-Republican article, rumors about the Fields family and the barn have been around for a century. A recession in the 1890s impacted both the family fortune and their banking business, causing many townspeople to threaten to shoot the brothers on sight. Other rumors include tales of a tunnel from the barn to the farmhouse: reported to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. No tunnel has ever been found.
Additional information on the barn can be found online at www.cedarnet.org.
To find out more, go to: www.timesrepublican.com
