Lower Ridge Round Barn 2

This iconic round barn is on Rustic Road 56, on the Lower Ridge Road section (Lower pronounced with a soft “O”), that has commanding views of the valleys to the north. The round barns of Vernon County, purportedly the highest number of round barns in any county in the U.S., were designed and built by a freed slave named Algie Shivers. He designed them for ergonomic purposes; the cows all faced towards the center, so that feed could be dropped into just one spot to feed them, the milkers would go around the outside of the circle to milk the cows.

The light streaks to the right of the barn is a passing pickup on Lower Ridge Road.