Eden Prairie History:
Previously known as the Goodrich-Ramus barn, this is the oldest standing barn in Eden Prairie and an important part of Minnesota history. It has been determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places on the basis of its historical and architectural significance.
The barn was built in 1942 from materials made by Rilco (Rock Island Lumber Company). The company had a number of premanufactured barn patterns available from a catalog. This method of barn construction became popular in the late 1930s. The roof has a Gothic Arch shape formed from laminated timber rafters. These rafters had been developed in Europe and introduced to the United States in 1934. The Department of Agriculture issued a technical bulletin in 1939 on the use of these rafters, and Rilco was founded in Saint Paul that same year. Rilco's marketing literature at the time promoted the rafters as being "factory-fabricated and engineered", and the rafters were shipped predrilled and ready for assembly with all hardware included.
This barn plan was promoted by the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station. The clay tile used for the silo is unusual, because the United States government considered cement safer than tile. The government eventually paid many farmers to demolish their clay tile silos and replace them with cement, but the owners of this barn refused.
In 2009, Hennepin County developed construction plans to widen Pioneer trail and considered demolishing the barn, but the City of Eden Prairie and the Historical Society stepped in to save it. After reading an article in the Star Tribune about its demise, Steven Schussler, well-known as the creator of the Rainforest Cafe chain of restaurants, was inspired to restore the barn.