I like looking at old barns, particularly the older ones. They are such a part of our rural and agricultural history. Shown is a photo on County Line Road on the Elkhart County side across from Kosciusko County and where the road intersects State Road 13 north of Syracuse. The barn is part of a farm that existed for several generations. Jacob Ott owned this land in the early days of the county. He also owned land closer to Syracuse Lake to the east. Old plat maps show Sarah Younce, a daughter of Jacob Ott, and her husband David Younce later owned the land at SR 13 and County Line Road on both sides of the county line. Assuming Jacob Ott took ownership of the land in the 1830s, this land was in the same family for at least 100 years. At some point later it was owned by Ned and Susie Stuckman and was farmed on both sides of the county line including where the former Shopko store was located. I’m not sure how old the barn is. It has a gambrel roof and a field stone foundation. That could indicate it was built prior to 1900, but without seeing the interior structure it is not easy to tell for sure. For example, a farmer could have chosen field stones after 1900 if they were readily available. And gambrel roof barns were built after 1900 too. The land is no longer part of a farm.
Old barn at State Road 13 and County Line Road, north of Syracuse.
