-Photo by Virginia Underwood
The Hanke Legacy Farm Barn near Mitchellville in Jasper County has stood strong since it was built in 1920. It is one of 103 barns being featured on the Iowa Barn Foundation's 2025 fall All-State Barn Tour Sept. 13-14.

The 2025 fall All-State Barn Tour runs Sept. 13-14, and featured on that tour will be an iconic dairy barn — easily seen from Interstate 80 — that has weathered a derecho, market crashes and more.

The All-State Tour highlights barns that have received restoration grants from the Iowa Barn Foundation and those that have received an Award of Distinction or Preservation Award for restoration that’s been fully funded by the owner.

The Hanke Legacy Farm Barn near Mitchellville in Jasper County has stood strong since it was built in 1920. The barn’s design came from the Louden Machinery Company with detailed plans chosen by the family from a catalog.

The construction cost of the barn was just $3,000, noted Virginia “Ginny” Underwood, whose grandfather was the third owner of the barn and farm.

The barn measures 110-by-36-by-38 feet and originally kept a team of Percheron draft horses and mules safe from the elements when they weren’t pulling plows and other equipment typical of that time. The land and buildings changed hands due to the ag economy’s struggles, and eventually landed with Alvah Hanke, who started a milking operation.

“It’s just a monument to days gone by,” Underwood said.

Hanke milked dairy cows by hand and took the milk to his nephew’s Dairyland business in Des Moines. When Underwood’s dad, Ken, returned from World War II where he served as an Army Air Forces pilot, he moved into the old farmhouse at the homestead with his wife, Ellie, and their oldest daughter, Virginia.

“He expanded the dairy operation to 17 cows and implemented a Surge bucket milking system. He also restructured the barn by pouring concrete for more stanchions and added mangers, gutters, alleyways and holding pens,” Underwood said. “He also installed a Farmtec 167 elevator and conveyor. The permanent elevator goes straight up the front of the barn, carrying square bales to the conveyor in the mow with sockets for bars to drop bales at specific places down the 110-foot-long hay mow.”

The gambrel roof design with no horizontal rafters allows for the storage of 20,000 square bales of hay and straw. Underwood’s dad also farmed corn, oats and soybeans, plus raised hogs, chickens, registered Angus cattle and even chinchillas for a brief period of time. But the registered Holsteins carried the brunt of the family farm business, which became a Grade A dairy operation.

Ken and Ellie Hanke also welcomed three more children to the family.

Underwood described a day on the farm as “grueling.” Milking started at 5 a.m. with a second shift at 5 p.m. Equipment was sanitized, the barn cleaned out and the cows were given fresh bedding daily. Then, of course, all the other animals needed tending to, as well. In the 1960s, the dairy operation brought on a Chore Boy Pit milking system, which allowed them to expand the dairy herd to more than 50 cows.

“Although this was more time efficient and financially beneficial, our father said he missed the connection with each animal with the transition to milking automation,” Underwood said. “The barn was the place to tame, train, wash and groom many 4-H calves and cows, giving rise to a few county and state-fair champions along the way. All four children were fortunate to be involved in 4-H clubs supported by their parents, who also found the time to volunteer as leaders.”

Underwood and her husband, Bob, moved into the small house on the family farm in the late 1960s. They attended registered Holstein sales, bought heifers and cows, and fully immersed themselves in the family dairy business, inseminating their herds themselves for such characteristics as milk production, form and longevity genetic traits.

But eventually, the Hanke dairy herd was sold in September 1975. The operation transitioned from Limousin cattle to Angus beef cattle, with the help of a young local farmer in the late 1970s who continues to care for the herd and plant and harvest crops.

“Still standing tall at 100 years old, our old barn took a significant beating from the derecho storm that rolled through Iowa in August 2020. The north end of the barn was pushed east off its foundation, buckling and bowing the beautiful 100-year-old boards, leaving the barn precariously leaning to the east,” Underwood said. “The insurance adjuster would not even approach the back of the barn. He was afraid it would fall in on him.”

After getting nowhere with construction businesses they contacted for help in fixing the barn, the Underwoods heard back from Big Timber Barn Company, now JB Timber Concepts, who not only offered to help, but knew exactly where the barn was located.

“He said, ‘I know exactly the barn you’re talking about. We see it often on our drives down I-80,'” Underwood shared. “I think the bales of hay and straw actually stabilized the barn over the years. But we knew that if we didn’t repair it, it would fall down.”

The crew came, checked out the barn and started to straighten it out and repair the damage without a promise that their efforts would be successful.

Underwood affixed a giant “Believe” sign on the front of the barn and, sure enough, the historical structure slowly moved back into place.

“We were so excited. The interior was braced with support beams, damaged wood was replaced with new wood panels and new windows were installed where the frames had buckled under the storm’s pressure,” Underwood said. “Then she received a fresh coat of paint.”

In 2024, the Hanke family received the Iowa Barn Foundation’s Barn of Distinction Award.

“Today, our barn stands tall and strong, a true monument to Iowa’s rich agricultural heritage. It is a reminder of the unwavering spirit and endurance of those who came before, a symbol of perseverance and the enduring power of family and farmers. We saved our barn not just for our family, but also out of gratitude, and in memory of our parents and grandparents, for the generations to come,” Underwood said.

The upcoming self-guided tour is free and open to the public. Barns will be open for touring from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 13-14. This year’s tour includes a record 103 stops.

“We were part of the barn tour last year and had no idea how many people would come. We ended up with more than 300 people signing our book. It was so much fun. We were exhausted, but loved every minute of it. So many people loved the old barn. It’s a part of hearts,” Underwood said. “The dairy barn was the life of our farm. We have so many fond memories of my parents and grandparents there.”