News

Kittlesons' farm embraces Americana

By Scott Wagar

09/03/2013

Individuals, who drive by Jamie and Kandice Kittleson’s home, will discover one of the best pieces of Rural Americana Folk Art, because as they drive by they will see two awe-inspiring cupolas on top of Kittleson’s barn that hold a stately and eloquent appearance.

The cupolas, which date back to 1908, have been in the Kittleson family since the 1970s, owned by two generations of their family and utilized by four generations of Kittlesons.

“Dad (Milan Kittleson) purchased Roy Eman’s barn sometime in the early 1970s and the cupolas came with the barn when it was moved from Kramer to our farm up in the Turtle Mountains,” Jamie Kittleson said. “We kept the barn until 2011 when we tore it down and built a new barn. At that time I kept the cupolas. I had them sitting in the shop all winter and I worked on them and my son and I placed them on the new barn.”

Although it is unknown who manufactured Kittleson’s cupolas, they are made of metal, stand 11 feet tall and have a vintage look to them.

They appear to have been manufactured by the Louden Machinery Company, headquartered in Fairview, Iowa, but the company had plants in Albany, N.Y.; St. Paul, Minn.; Kansas City, Mo. and Chicago, Ill. The company’s cupolas have a unique look to them in their shape, decorative trim and weather vain, which closely matches Kittleson’s cupolas.

FUNCTION

On barns, the cupola plays one of the most important parts of the structure.

“The primary use of the cupola is for ventilation,” Jamie Kittleson said.  

The cupolas were placed on the roof of the barn over an open hole cut into the building, which allowed heat from hay in the loft to escape the structure.

Ventilation for hay played an important part because once hay is placed in the loft it produces a lot heat, and if the heat is not removed it can be a danger to the structure and the animals in the barn.

Back in the days before cupolas, it was rumored that at times the heat from the hay was so potent that hay, at times, would combust and cause a fire in the barn.

Not only did the heat affect the edifice, but it also affected the animals and farmers who worked inside the building.

On a normal work day for individuals who worked in a barn, the person would open the barn door (and at times, the windows), which would cause a breeze through the barn, up into the loft and out of the cupolas, releasing the hot air. With hot and fetid air going out the building, fresh air would come into the barn through the open barn door, refreshing the air inside the structure.

There was also a true science in making air flow in a barn, and the key focus in causing a breeze directly from the cupola. In order to make a strong breeze through a barn, the opening at the top had to be smaller than the opening on the main floor. By decreasing the size of the hole in the barn’s roof where the cupola were placed, it caused a suction of sort with air rushing steadily, giving a physical, powerful air flow through the barn, which cooled the inside of the building, kept it dry, improving the quality of air and made it more comfortable for the animals and workers in the barn.

Through releasing hot air, it also removed moisture from the barn, making the barn more structurally sound and less humid for those in the building. It also reduced mildew from hay and grain in the barn.

With holes on top of a barn for ventilation, a farmer placed cupolas over the holes to cover them up, and gave the barn a decorative look.

In the pinnacle of the cupolas in America history, a farmer had many different choices in the shape and size of the cupola, granting the owner one’s own style to express his or hers personality. In fact, certain companies allowed a farmer to design his or her own cupola, which was built to meet the livestock producer’s artistic needs.

Added to the cupola was a weather vane, which had a two-fold purpose. The weather vane acted as a lightening rod, which protected a barn from lightening strikes. It also showed wind direction.
Outside of atmospheric reasons, the weather vane was also used as an ornamental device. Weather vanes had inventive looking art pieces, like an arrow to show wind direction or a compass showing wind direction.

The majority of all weather vanes also had an animal or a piece of fruit on it. Vanes normally had a cow, horse, fox, pineapple and many more items. The primary piece was a rooster, which dates back to Julius Caesar and his victory over the Gauls.

After winning the war over the Gauls, Caesar ordered specific foods and wines be used to marinate roosters they had for a victory meal, which to the Romans’ symbolized prosperity.

The pineapple was utilized a lot, too, because it symbolized hospitality. By placing a pineapple on the highest peak of a farmer’s structure it called out to other people the warmth and generosity the farm had, and welcomed all to the farmstead.

ORIGIN
                        
The origins of cupolas appeared to date back to Armenians churches with stone cupolas, along with Syrian’s buildings that date back to the second century AD. Romans, after conquering lands, adopted the cupola into their culture.

The cupola at that time was a small dome on top of cathedrals and buildings. On top of the dome, was an open hole covered by a roof, called a lantern, which allowed light and air into structures.

MEANING
   
The word originates from the Latin “Cupula,” which when translated into English means “cup”. The dome that covered the top of buildings appeared to be cup shape (or an upside down cup), so the word “Cupola” was chosen for the architecture term.

HISTORY

In Victoria England, the cupolas changed from a cup shape to an open railing on top of the roof, which were placed on English’s homes along seaside and called “the widow’s walk."

The railing was used by the wives of sailors where they could go and look (and hope) to see if their husbands were sailing back into port safely.

In America, the cupola tooks its lead from the Renaissance Era of the Florence cathedrals.

TODAY

Today, for the most part, the cupola doesn’t play a major role in ventilating a barn anymore, but they do play roles in America culture. From country tours of barns, to cupolas being utilized as art pieces in museums in New York City and elsewhere, the cupolas hold a place in American’s Folk Art.

For Kittleson, and his love for cupolas, it is the story behind the pieces. “I enjoy them so much because of the history of them,” Jamie Kittleson said.

From Armenians churches, to the coastal cliffs of England, to the landscape of America, to the farm yard of the Kittlesons in the Turtle Mountains, the cupola is a true Americana piece.