Wednesdays and Saturdays in May the Kalona Area Chamber of Commerce is offering a specialty ByWays tour that features landmark barns in the Kalona countryside. The tour includes heritage barns dating back to 1869 as well as round and gambrel roof barns dating to the 1930s and 1940s.

On Wednesday, May 4, the first barn tour traveled through the countryside to its first stop, Ken and Wanda Yoder, whose barn is the oldest on the tour, built in 1869.

The tour group consisted of friends from Minnesota and Wisconsin who were traveling to Pella for the tulip festival and stopped at the Amana Colonies and Kalona along the way.

“We like to watch that show Barn Wood Builders, so it’s interesting to be able to go in and see the framework of these old barns,” said Gary Valvoda of Pine City, Minnesota. “I was raised on a farm, but not with a barn like this. It’s neat to look at the architecture and the structure.

The tour then made a quick stop, without even disembarking, at Twila Swartzendruber’s barn, where Chamber Director Tonia Poole explained that the barn has “1901” inlaid in the cement at the door, which probably denotes when the barn was built. The farm has been in the family since the 1850s, making it a Heritage Farm, having been in the family for at least 150 years.

Poole also pointed out that the Kemp General Store, which is now on the grounds of the Kalona Historical Village, was once within eyesight of the Swartzendruber farm.

The tour then moved on to Jerry and Lou Miller’s barn, which has been renovated to allow the Millers to host events like retirement parties, birthdays and tailgates for their family.

“This farm came in the family in 1870 and it was my great-great grandparents’, Steven D. and Magdalena Yoder,” Lou said. “They lived here about 10 years, then they sold the farm to their youngest daughter, Betsy, who was married to Louis Miller. They would have lived here until 1910 and at that point they sold it to their youngest daughter, who was my grandmother, Kate.”

Kate only purchased half of the 160-acre farm and her brother Eli bought the other half. Kate married Mahlon Schlabaugh, who had lived next door. In 1916 Mahlon started building all new buildings on the farm, including the existing barn.

“Then Kate and Mahlon sold it to their youngest daughter, which was my mom, and they moved here in 1965,” Lou said.

The two-hour specialty barn tours offered by the Chamber include these stops and more, letting visitors and locals alike learn about the rich farm history of the area. The tour requires minimal walking and restrooms are available at the second stop.

The cost for the tour is $30 for adults and $15 for youth. To book a tour, contact the Chamber at 319-656-2660 or info@kalonachamber.com. More information is available on the Chamber website at kalonachamber.com/tours.