A few pioneers located on the area's small river prior to 1900.  Remains of the log buildings of the Francis Place can be seen on the banks of the Big Sandy River.  The log barn is probably the earliest barn built here, dating from the 1880s, several decades before the Carey Act brought the main influx of people to the area.  The Francis place served as a post office and was on the freight line between Rock Springs and Pinedale.  The buildings use larger logs than those seen in later buildings and are notable for the wooden pegs and square nails used in their construction. 

Van Matre Barn

The major settlement of Eden Valley between 1907 and 1909 when the area was opened up as an irrigation project under the Carey Act.  Early settlers were lured here by exaggerated claims about the land and climate.  Brochures promised climate conditions and soil suitable for orchards, corn, and melons, but settlers found arid sagebrush covered land with a growing season of only 60 days.  The promised irrigation system which would bring essential water to their land was inadequate and incomplete.  Barns of the early settlement era reflect these difficult times.  They were simple three-sided shed-like structures built of poles.  The roofs consisted of poles covered with woven wire or boards, then straw. 

Build Your Barn, and It Will Build Your House

Juel Barn - about 1914

As irrigation began to work its magic on the virgin soil, settlers could build bigger, more traditional barns.  A saying of early Eden Valley settlers, "Build your barn and it will build your house," reflects the importance of barns to families in the valley.  Some barns of this era were built of logs cut in the Wind River Mountains and hauled the 50 miles by wagon to Eden Valley.  Other barns were built of milled lumber.  Another building material used by early settlers was the adobe clay they could create out of the soil around them.  Barns of this era were multi-purpose structures, showing that settlers ran self-sufficient farms.  They produced the food they needed for their families and grew grain for their livestock, as well as, cash crop.  The barns were used to stall work horses, cows that provided milk for the family, as well as, pigs and sheep raised for family use.  These barns usually had a hay loft and a section used as a granary.  Generally the farms had a separate chicken coop since chickens were an important source of food, as well as, root cellars to store garden produce needed to see them through the long winters.

Early settlers had successful dairy farms

When early settlers saw that producing milk for the market in Rock Springs could be profitable, old barns were renovated and new barns were built to accommodate milking operations.  Residents of Eden Valley formed a dairy co-op in the 1920s.  They made daily milk runs to Rock Springs and had a building in downtown Rock Springs where they bottled and sold the milk.

Specialized Barns

Poor Farm

As the population and economy of the valley grew, barns were built for special purposes.  The University of Wyoming Experimental Farm was established in Eden Valley in 1913.  In 1916, Sweetwater County established a Poor Farm in Farson where aged and indigent county residents could work and live.  The barn they built as part of the complex housed animals and poultry the clients tended.  One barn was built specifically for processing turkeys raised by Minnie Sitzman who raised and sold to markets in Rock Springs as many as 1200 turkeys.  Sheep ranchers' barns were used as hay storage and for lambing sheep.  An unusually tall barn used for butchering was built by the Radosavich family who owned a meat market in Rock Springs.

Dairy Changes

In the 1940s, The Eden Valley Dairy sold out to Cream-O-Weber.  As a result, the business expanded to larger markets in Utah and Colorado.  To meet stricter health regulations, dairy barns were renovated or new barns built.  The Vern McMurray barn illustrates the change.  Their new barn was built as an extension of the old barn.  Other barns built from the 1940s through the 1960s utilized concrete blocks, as well as, lumber.  In 1971, higher shipping and production costs resulted in such a significant loss of profit that Eden Valley dairies went out of business.