Doncaster Round Barn
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Doncaster Round Barn
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Doncaster Round Barn
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| Location | near Twin Bridges, Montana, United States |
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| Coordinates | 45°34′12″N 112°18′49″W / 45.57000°N 112.31361°WCoordinates: 45°34′12″N 112°18′49″W / 45.57000°N 112.31361°W |
| Built | c. 1882 |
| Architectural style | Round, wood frame barn |
| NRHP Reference # | 15000150 |
| Added to NRHP | April 14, 2015 |
The Doncaster Round Barn, also called "Bayers' Barn" and "the Round Barn at Twin Bridges" is a three-story, wood framed round barn located about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Twin Bridges, Montana. Built about 1882 by mining entrepreneur Noah Armstrong to house his race horses, and featuring a 20 feet (6.1 m)-wide indoor training track around the circumference, it is a National Register of Historic Places property notable for its unique architecture and as the birthplace of the Thoroughbred racehorse, Spokane, winner of the 1889 Kentucky Derby.
Armstrong had made his fortune in mining, and at one time operated the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company near Glendale, Montana. During that time, he organized horse races in the mining camp, and after leaving the business he obtained property in the Jefferson River valley, near Twin Bridges, and began to raise race horses. He bought the original property from his son, and purchased additional surrounding land until he owned 4,000 acres (1,600 ha), which he originally named the Doncaster Farm, in honor of the famed English Thoroughbred race horse Doncaster, whom Armstrong admired. The property had previously been called the Jefferson River Ranch.
The barn was built in 1882 in accordance with a design by Armstrong and is believed to have been built by local craftsmen from area materials. It was three stories high, shaped like a "wedding cake," with each floor smaller than the one below it. The first floor is about 100 feet (30 m) in diameter, the second floor 75 feet (23 m), and the third floor 30 feet (9.1 m). The barn stands 48 feet (15 m) high from ground level to the top of the ceiling in the third floor.
The foundation was set on stone abutments quarried from rock in a canyon located about five miles (8.0 km) away. Armstrong stated they were driven twelve feet below the water table and set on bedrock. The walls were of wooden planks, made of three thicknesses of lumber deep, said to be insulated with "double sheets of building paper" between each layer of lumber. The entrance to the barn originally featured an engraved 4-by-8-foot (1.2 by 2.4 m) horse scene placed over the door.
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Wikipedia