Ackerhurst
Dairy Barn
15220 Military
Road
1935
Adolf Otte, builder
Dutch Gambrel Style
Designated Omaha Landmark: March 5, 2002
The
Ackerhurst barn is an extraordinary example of a Dutch Gambrel dairy
barn. This style of barn was once a ubiquitous resource in Douglas
County and is now very rare.
The
Ackerhurst barn was built in 1935 by Anthony W. Ackerman for the
Ackerhurst dairy, described at the time in a Omaha World-Herald article as
"one of the finest dairy barns in the middle west". A great
many steps were taken to insure the purity and quality of the milk
produced by the Ackerman dairy herd. For example, a veterinarian was on
duty at all times, high quality hay was trucked to the dairy, and all of
the milking equipment installed was manufactured of stainless steel,
then state of the art.
The
scale of the Ackerhurst barn is impressive, measuring 193 feet long by
40 feet wide. The second floor of the barn retains a cathedral-like
hayloft comprised of wooden trusses.
(This
building is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.)
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