Barn tour set for Saturday

The McLean County Barn Keepers are planning their 15th Barn Tour this Saturday, Sept. 9.

Due to Covid, they were not able to have a tour for the last three years. This year’s tour will travel the roads of Blue Mound (Cooksville) and Martin (Colfax) Townships and the event is held rain or shine.

The Neuhaus Nursery located 14 miles east of Bloomington or 15 miles west of Gibson City on Illinois State Route 9 will be the Welcome Center this year. Living up to our motto, “restoration, preservation, and repurposing of old barns”, many of you will recognize this site as once housing CISAR. Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. The tour time for barns being open is 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The cost of the tour is $20 per carload for non-members and $15 per carload for members.

Come early and have a hot drink and a donut while you study the tour book and plan your trip. This year includes 13 barns, two cemeteries, tractors and many other attractions to see while you grab a breath of fresh country air. Each barn will have somebody at the location to answer questions.

This is not a scheduled stop this year, but across the road from the Welcome Center is the viewing platform for the Twin Grove Windmill farm if you want to learn more about the windmills in the area and have completed the regular tour.

As an added feature, The Longbranch Again Restaurant in Cooksville will be offering a “Barn Tour Special” from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Parking is available near all the barns and we welcome bicyclists and car clubs.

As a note of interest, in 1955, there were one-hundred and fifty-nine barns in Blue Mound Township with thirty-nine of those remaining in 2002. Martin Township had one-hundred and thirty-nine barns in 1955 and thirty in 2002.

For more information, follow “Barn Keepers” on Facebook and visit the website, www.barnkeepers.org. Pat Huth, Tour Chairman, can be reached at 309-475-6951.