Miller Barn

History

Located at the end of Miller Road, this large barn (ca. 1891) was built on 202 acres of land that were purchased by Frederick Werner in 1855. An 1891 plat map lists German emigrant, John Miller, Werner’s son-in-law, as owner, and shows one structure existing on the site. The land was farmed by John Miller’s son, Charles, who provided dairy products to many local resorts and residents. Charles Miller was also a talented boat and house builder. His work is reflected in many of Port Oneida’s buildings.

The original Miller farmhouse burned during a tragic fire in which Mrs. Miller perished, and was rebuilt in 1940. The second house was removed by the National Park Service following acquisition in 1970. The barn is the only remaining structure on this farm. Its location, wrapped in the bluffs adjacent to the Lake Michigan shoreline, protects it from wind and blowing sand. A remnant orchard with large apple trees, an extensive pasture, and a cow path lie between the grove and the shoreline. Ornamental shrubs and fruit trees such as roses and apples mark the location of the original house.

The barn has a heavy timber frame with four bays, a corrugated metal gable roof, a “T” shaped plan, and vertical board and batten siding. The dairy wing reflects the growing importance of dairy activity that occurred in the early 1900s when additional livestock stalls were needed. The wing has a concrete floor, timber stalls and troughs, and uses recycled timbers in the balloon framing. The barn remains inextricably connected to the people who built and utilized it, as well as to the land upon which it was constructed.