Saving this historic Tazewell County barn is part of farm's blueprint for its future

Leslie Renken, Journal Star
·5 min read
Farm owner Dave Bishop, left, and tenant Kira Santiago of Kira's Flowers stand near a Sears and Roebuck dairy barn built in 1927 on Bishop's property on the edge of East Peoria. Bishop and Santiago have mounted a campaign to fund the restoration of the rundown barn, which suffers from a badly leaking roof.
Farm owner Dave Bishop, left, and tenant Kira Santiago of Kira's Flowers stand near a Sears and Roebuck dairy barn built in 1927 on Bishop's property on the edge of East Peoria. Bishop and Santiago have mounted a campaign to fund the restoration of the rundown barn, which suffers from a badly leaking roof.

EAST PEORIA — In just the last few years, shingles laid in 1962 have begun to reveal small pinpoints of light, like stars, in the wooden rafters of the barn on Dave Bishop’s Tazewell County farm.

From the outside, the roof declares its age not only by how weathered it has become, but also by the style of shingle — a textured deep green that is no longer available. It’s only the second of two roofs the old barn has sported in its long life; the first was installed in 1927 when a new barn was raised to replace another destroyed by fire. The disaster led to the purchase of a round-top barn from the Sears and Roebuck catalog because the style was known to withstand brisk Midwestern winds. The massive barn arrived in pieces by train, and was transported to the farm by horse and carriage.

With one of a dwindling number of historic Sears and Roebuck barns still standing in the area, the barn's owner has launched a $50,000 fundraiser to replace the roof and do other repairs. But the financing of repairs is not the only goal for the GoFundMe campaign.

The barn is on almost 100 acres owned by the same family since 1868; it once sustained a family, and today its sixth-generation owner is exploring ways it could be used to help sustain a community. The fundraiser is the first effort to introduce that community to the project, and to create buy-in supporting sustainable farming.

The future of food

A lifelong farmer and owner of PrairiErth Farm, an organic farm in Atlanta, Illinois, Bishop envisions a future where communities are fed not by long supply chains, but by small farms within driving distance of the city center.

“It’s a European idea that works very well over there and seems like a foreign concept here, but we think that’s probably going to be the future,” said Bishop, while standing outside the old family farmhouse.

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Change is coming to the farming industry, necessitated by the unsustainable nature of modern farming and nutrient-depleted soils, said Bishop.

“We are basically now using the soil to hold the plant up, and feeding it all chemical nutrients. Even if that weren’t harmful, you are using non-replaceable natural resources to produce your food. At some point that becomes a problem," he said.

The supply of chemical nutrients is finite.

“The three major nutrients are nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. The weak link in that chain is phosphorus – 75% of the global supply of phosphorus is in Morocco. If you look at how long that can last, there are different scientific studies that range from 25 to 80 years – none of them go past the end of the century. And if you take that one macronutrient out, everything falls apart. You’ve got to have all three,” said Bishop

Fortunately, there are other well-tested methods for creating fertile soils, said Bishop.

“If you really want a sustainable future, then you have to have a farm that is self-sufficient, that uses animals and plants together to provide the fertility on the land, and to address the weed control and pest control, you do that with a diverse rotation of crops – all the things we used to do when I was a little kid.”

Organic farming – past, present and future

Holes have appeared in the roof of an old dairy barn on farm owner Dave Bishop's property in East Peoria. The barn, built in 1927, has served many purposes over the decades, most recently for gatherings hosted by Down River Farm and Kira's Flowers, who have rented out the land for their respective businesses.
Holes have appeared in the roof of an old dairy barn on farm owner Dave Bishop's property in East Peoria. The barn, built in 1927, has served many purposes over the decades, most recently for gatherings hosted by Down River Farm and Kira's Flowers, who have rented out the land for their respective businesses.

Bishop’s family farm has been the home base for a pair of organic farms over the last few years. Evan Barry, owner of Down River Farm, grew vegetables on the property, while Kira Santiago grew flowers for her business, Kira’s Flowers. Though Barry will not be using the property this year, Santiago is beginning her eighth year there, and is working with Bishop to make it into an asset for the entire community.

“Every city center needs small farms to provide them with flowers, with fiber, with foods, with all the things that a farm can provide to be truly sustainable," said Santiago. “We saw, during those weird early days of the pandemic, when the grocery stores weren’t able to keep certain things stocked, a lot of the smaller businesses and farmers were able to because it’s a direct-to-consumer approach, as opposed to having to go through such a long supply chain.”

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As part of the effort, Bishop has placed the property into an agriculture conservation easement through The Conservation Fund, which ensures that it will always be a farm and can never be sold and subdivided into a housing development. The Bishop farm sits on the edge of East Peoria, in an area pinpointed for future residential growth.

The upper level of the Bishop family dairy barn in East Peoria has recently hosted community gatherings organized by tenants Down River Farm and Kira's Flowers, and served as a drying facility for crops. But severe leaking in the roof has put an end to that for now.
The upper level of the Bishop family dairy barn in East Peoria has recently hosted community gatherings organized by tenants Down River Farm and Kira's Flowers, and served as a drying facility for crops. But severe leaking in the roof has put an end to that for now.

“This is for forever – the easement is on the titles of the property,” said Bishop. “Long after I’m gone, it still has to be a farm.”

For Bishop, a legacy is more important than future financial gain from the sale of property. The entire effort is about preservation – of a barn, of farmland and timber, and even the surrounding community. Bishop envisions the property being used not only to provide food, but also as an educational site where future farmers responsible for ushering in a new era in farming learn sustainable practices.

Repairing the barn is just the beginning of what Bishop hopes will be a long, productive conversation with the surrounding community.

“Let’s talk about our food future," said Bishop. "What do you see in terms of how communities like Peoria are going to feed themselves in coming years, and would you be willing to support an effort out here?”

Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken. 

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Historic Tazewell County barn in need of repairs and new roof