URBANA – More than 100 years ago, three round barns were built on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus as part of a 20-acre dairy demonstration farm.
Now, those structures are getting a facelift.
The barns were constructed to showcase the labor efficient and cost-effective design of round barns, according to the university, and helped popularize the design across the U.S., especially in the Midwest.
“They were a part of an effort to test ideas, improve agricultural practice and share knowledge with farmers across Illinois and beyond,” College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences acting director Anna Ball said. “In many ways, they represent the very best of the land grant tradition.”
The barns are located on the university’s South Farms and were built between 1908 and 1913.
They were still in use when they were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, but they’ve since began to deteriorate, Provost John Coleman said. They were last used for storage by the athletic department in 2015.
“It’s painful to see them in disrepair,” he said. “You want to see them back to their former glory or even more glorious than they were.”
The barns have a new lease on life following a $10 million gift from alum Leah Wightman, who died in 2024.
“Last fall we started the process of restoring the exteriors of these barns,” College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Peter Constable said. “You can see that we’ve already made repairs to the roof of the east barn.”
The east barn and manager house are currently being renovated. The other two barns will have their roofs and exteriors restored by next spring, he said.
“After the barns have been restored, they will not be used for housing or caring for animals,” Constable said. “Instead, we envision classes, perhaps on the use of AI [artificial intelligence] and the practice of veterinary medicine or pork production.”
A love for round barns
Born in 1940, Wightman grew up on a farm near Arcola, just down the street from a round barn built in 1911 – around the same time as the round barns on campus.
She and her brother Jim worked on the farm and were among the last generation in rural Illinois to attend school in a one room schoolhouse, according to the university. She graduated from Arcola High School in 1958 and from U of I in 1977.
Wightman was the third person hired at Parkland College to create and manage their bookstore, where she worked until she retired, her lifelong friend Barbara Clark said.
“I stand here in awe today that she was able to give $10 million to restore these three barns,” Clark said.
Heather Ting, Wightman’s friend and neighbor, was not surprised to learn she decided to donate her estate to help restore the barns.
“I admit that I may have been a little surprised by the amount of the donation – I had no idea,” Ting said. “It made me realize even more just how important this restoration was to Leah.”
Wightman was very frugal, Ting said.
“Leah, who loved to go to Harvest Market and have the $3 breakfast special and who drove a 1996 vehicle, because it still ran and got her from A to B,” she said, “she prioritized giving and prioritized preserving history and prioritized helping future generations to connect with Illinois agriculture and history.”
Her gift to the university shows a lifetime of prioritizing philanthropy, Ting said.
“There were many things that she had thought about doing as far as home improvements and things that really would have added to her comfort, like building on a sunporch or remodeling a bathroom or buying a new car that would be easy to get in and out of, but often, she would take those financial considerations very seriously,” she said. “And often, and almost always, she would decide that she would make do with the way that things were, because she wanted to save.”
Ting said Wightman and her partner really admired the barns, Ting said.
“She often asked Don if he had time to take a ride after dinner, which meant driving by the round barns,” she said.
That’s one of many lessons Wightman taught her.
“Thank you, Leah, for lessons that I learned through your friendship and mentorship, especially to slow down, to appreciate things that we already have and to take the scenic route past the round barns on the way home,” she said.
The barns are now called the Leah J. Wightman Round Barns.