Block: Michigan Royal Star

after one Mr. Purdy had reportedly seen while traveling in Iowa. It has eight sides each measuring
42 feet. 6 inches long and 24 feet high. It has a poured cement foundation four feet high that supports
a 20 foot high timber framed wall. The framing is sheathed with 1 X 12 shiplap siding and encircling
the entire building are thirty 10 X 12 6-lite windows. To the tip of the weathervane the barn is 70 feet tall.
The roof has three different levels. The ground floor of the barn measures 8,600 square feet and the loft
area 5,700 square feet. the distance between opposite walls is 102 feet 6 inches. In the center, on the
ground level, there is a 44 foot octagonal arena. Between the arena and the outside wall of the barn
are stables, tack room and grain storage areas. The Friends of the Thumb Octagon Barn now own
and operate the Thumb Octagon Barn and Agricultural Museum.

For further information about the Thumb Octagon Barn, go to their website: http://www.thumboctagonbarn.org/

Safety and Respecting Private Property~
All sites are on private property and should be viewed from the public road unless otherwise indicated at the
site that it is a business open to the public. We are indebted to our barn hosts for their generosity.
When viewing and enjoying the barns and blocks use caution when slowing or stopping near a site.