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Built in 1912, Restored in 1995

H. W. Fromme and son Moritz

Big Kansas Road Trip - May 3-6 2018
Include the Fromme-Birney Round Barn on your tour of Kiowa, Comanche and Barber Counties on this fun Kansas get-away-weekend. The Big Kansas Road Trip is sponsored by the Kansas Sampler Foundation

"Road Trip" Events

Daily activities at the Fromme-Birney Round Barn during the Big Kansas Road Trip

Check our acoustics by singing Home on the Range in the center of the hayloft
View exhibits of agriculture of 1912; round barns of the US.
Get barn preservation ideas from the Kansas Barn Alliance booth/display
Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities

Thursday, May 3

Open all day
5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn
Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities

Friday, May 4

Open all day
5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn
Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities

Saturday, May 5
6:00 - 8:30 a.m. - Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast (donations accepted)served by Mullinville Recreation Commission. Join us for the beautiful sunrise & breakfast

10:30 a.m. - Showing of "The Barn Raisers" barn documentary at Twilight Theatre in Greensburg. Several Kansas barns are in this 2017 movie produced by Fourth Wall Films.

1:00-4:00 pm - Book Signing - Trudy Weaver Flowers will be selling and signing her second book, "Storms on the Prairie." It tells of the difficult times in Kiowa County and Mullinville during the 1930's Depression and Dust Bowl. Trudy's first book, "Dream or Destiny: A Sage of Pioneer Spirit in an Unpredictable Land" about the establishment of Mullinville's Eagle Canyon Ranch will also be available.

4:00 pm Barn Restoration Tips and Methods - by Len Schamber - Historic Preservation Contractor with Schamber Historic Preservation and Kansas Barn Alliance

5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn

6:00 pm Musical Entertainment - Norval Ralstin - Musical Saw; Wilma McChristian &Tracy Weaver - Accordion; Eldon Weaver - Harmonica; and Trudy Weaver Flowers on Ukulele

7:00 pm Jeff Davidson Concert - (free admission) Jeff Davidson is a Kansas singer/songwriter and uses his original works as well as vintage songs of old to lead audiences through the history of the “winnin’ of the west” which shaped the economy, ideology and heroism of a young nation.

Davidson of Eureka, KS is a man of many hats. Jeff is a cowboy, musician, poet, historian, K-State Research & Extension Watershed Specialist, rangeland plant identification expert, and a former Greenwood County Extension Educator. He has performed music for over 30 years, taking western music combined with western history to communities throughout Kansas, from Kansas City to Elkhart and from St. Francis to Columbus.

He began his entertainment career as a square dance caller, and in 1985 became the entertainer for the Flint Hills Overland Wagon Train and served in that capacity for 24 years. Come and enjoy this free concert followed by a beautiful western Kansas sunset.

Sunday, May 6

Open all day
5:00 pm Round Barn Tour (History & Architecture) - led by Tamina Fromme - great-granddaughter of both the owner and builder of the round barn
Sunrise 6:30 a.m.; Sunset 8:30; get there early for the great photo opportunities

Saturday May 5 @ 6:30 pm
Come and hear Norval Ralstin playing the Musical Saw ; Wilma McChristian & Tracy Weaver on Accordion; Eldon Weaver - Harmonica; and Trudy Weaver Flowers on Ukulele.
Norval is a local rancher and steward of the round barn. A treat is to hear "Amazing Grace" from this musician and his amazing saw.

The Barn Raisers (documentary)
Twilight Theatre - Greensburg KS
May 5, 10:30 a.m. (free)

"The Barn Raisers" historical documentary feature film tells the story of barns in the Midwest by examining them through the lens of architecture. What do barn settings, styles, methods and materials tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these vanishing country cathedrals played in the settling and building of a growing nation? Barns were constructed by farmer-craftsmen, professional builders who traveled from job to job and even architects like Frank Lloyd Wright. "The Barn Raisers" paints a cinematic portrait of barns and builders, and reminds us that these remnants from America's rural past are still here to be appreciated and experienced. Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/barnmovie/

Vern Birney in his wheat crop, 1980's

The barn was built 1912 for Henry W. Fromme to house his draft horses that pulled the machinery to grow the wheat crops. Four years later, the Fromme family bought their first tractor in 1916, thus the barn was obsolete in just four short years after it was built. The machinery of today is pulled by large tractors and the farmers use new higher yielding varieties, fertilizers and pest management that produces higher yields than were produced in 1912. Stewardship of the land in maintaining soil quality allows for the farmers to reach their goal of leaving this productive soil to produce crops for generations to come.