Thursday, February 16, 2023

About the Octagonal Barn in Spring Grove That Is Endangered at the Former Fred Hatch Farm

 From the October 1, 2022, Northwest Herald (McHenry County, Illinois) "Only you can ensure local history will be 'barn' again" by Kurt Begalka.

The exterior of the 1876 octagonal horse barn in Spring Grove, Illinois, is not much to look at (despite being octagonal).  However, go inside and look up.  Well, that's a whole different story.  That ceiling appears almost cathedral-like.  

And, it might well be the only remaining octagonal barn in McHenry County.

Jack Pease, president of McHenry-based Super Aggregates Inc., recently bought the remainder of the Fred Hatch Farm (site of the now-demolished first silo in the United States that was designed by Fred Hatch).  This farm was most recently owned by the Kattner family.

I knew one of the Kattners, Ed.

Pease said he intends to mine the estimated 100 acres on the north side of Main Street and develop the current Kattner farmstead to the south (where the barn is located).  That means tear it down, subdivide it into lots.

This land is on Spring Grove's Main Street a short distance east of Wilmot Road.

--Cooter


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