The Building of Wisconsin’s Barns

Baileys Harbor native William H. Tishler has written a book about how Wisconsin’s barns – noble structures that highlight our rural landscape and are the most monumental buildings on a farm – were built. These structures are rapidly disappearing, so there is growing nostalgia for them and concerns about their destiny. 

Building Wisconsin’s Barns provides fascinating details about the social mores, traditions, carpentry skills and back-breaking labor that have made them a beloved component of the countryside. It also depicts the techniques of an ancient form of construction that is rapidly being forgotten.

Tishler based this book on his decades of teaching and field work studying rural buildings throughout Wisconsin and his conversations with elderly barn builders who shared their knowledge. Building Wisconsin’s Barns will interest those who appreciate the beauty of rural farms and landscapes, want to learn about this aspect of Wisconsin’s history or wish to help preserve some of these rural icons.