ARCOLA, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV) — The Illinois Amish Heritage Center is working to restore one of the oldest Amish barns in Illinois.
Restoring the Miller Barn is not the center’s first project. The campus has already restored an Amish school building and two family homes.
The Miller Barn is being taken down piece by piece from its current location in Arcola, Ill. to be stored and restored at the Illinois Amish Heritage Center. Over the past week, workers focused on taking down the rooftop.
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Firmitas, LLC Site Superintendent William Denton said the group is making sure the building is restored to its full integrity.
“Our drawings, we have a full map of where everything goes back together,” Denton said. “So, everything has been documented on where it was in the original barn and so it can be put back in the place it was when we put the barn back up.”
Heritage spokesperson Cassie Yoder said she believes that the restoration of the Miller Barn will be important in connecting central Illinois with the Amish community.
“A lot of times people assume the Amish are very stand offish and they do their own thing,” Yoder said. “But, that’s really not how it is, they are very connected and an integral part of our community.”
Denton said timber frame buildings like the Miller Barn were designed to last.
“We have this barn here, which if we spend a little bit of money and a little bit of time into can last another 150 years no problem,” Denton said.
Yoder said the campus has already received positive feedback regarding the restoration and future tours.
“We’ve got a lot of farmers or people that are interested in farming and agriculture in general and this really tells a story to be able to know it is going to be easy access,” she said.
Once the restoration project is complete, the Illinois Amish Heritage Campus will have a full barn raising ceremony for the community.
