The iconic Route 66 Arcadia Round Barn is getting new updates with preservation grant
Drivers along Route 66 soon will see an upgraded version of one of Oklahoma's iconic landmarks.
The Arcadia Round Barn will get new siding thanks to a $30,000 grant from the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, and $80,000 in funds from the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society.
Arcadia Round Barn to get updates
The funds will re-side the barn using the same materials and methods as when the barn was first built in 1898, and when it was restored in 1992.
“The Round Barn is an iconic Route 66 landmark, and the historical society is charged with keeping it in the best repair possible,” said Ann Young, who wrote the grant proposal. “Time and the Oklahoma weather have taken their toll on the barn’s beautiful red siding, and the historical society board is excited to launch a rejuvenation project.”
The historic structure is visited by about 40,000 people annually, and Young said donations, gift shop purchases and music tips during weekend concerts are vital to the barn's upkeep.
History of the Arcadia Round Barn on Route 66
The barn was first built by local farmer William Harrison Odor in 1898. He soaked native, green bur oak boards in the river and forced them into the curves needed for the walls and rafters.
Odor's son, Ralph, said in a 1981 interview that the barn was built round in hopes that a tornado would go "around it instead of through it," according to a belief at that time that round barns were "cyclone-proof."
The loft of the barn was given a smooth hardwood floor so that dances could be held there. In 1914, State Highway 7 was built as a crude dirt road next to the barn. That highway became Route 66 in 1926.
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The barn changed ownership in the 1940s, and by the 1970s the structure was "rapidly decaying," according to the historical society. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and in the late 1980s, the historical society was formed in hopes of restoring it to its former glory.
That restoration was completed in 1992.
Visiting the Arcadia Round Barn
You'll find the iconic red barn six miles east of Interstate 35 on Historic Route 66.
The barn is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free admission to the museum and live music events.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Route 66 Arcadia Round Barn to receive grant-funded upgrades
