the Holmes Round Barn

a Canadian Heritage Dairy Barn in Barnston-Ouest, Quebec

In 1897 William Henry Holmes bought a farm in the vicinity of Way’s Mills in the Quebec Eastern Townships with a rectangular barn and a sugarhouse. Just 9 years later, disaster struck when the Holmes barn and farmhouse burned to the ground. Ignoring tradition, William decided to build a round barn – the latest trend in dairy farming from the neighbouring American States of Vermont and Massachusetts.

  • A Visit

    A Visit

    Down a crooked little road, over a small river, up the hill, there were cow crossing signs and then we saw the red barn amidst…

  • Louise Abbott

    Louise Abbott

    True round barns, such as the Holmes barn in Barnston West, demanded more precise engineering than polygonal models. Some architectural historians have claimed that round…