Touring the barns of Union County

Southern Illinois "barnstorming tours" to farms, barns, vineyards, wineries and orchards offer visitors a look at a way of life rarely seen since the late 19th century.

In this historically agricultural area, many structures that once housed mules and piles of sweet potatoes have been transformed into country cafes, greenhouses and antique and gift shops. The Southernmost Illinois Tourism Bureau offers "Barnstorming Tours" for groups of up to 50 people to enjoy a variety of activities in and near these historic barns or individuals may call to receive a brochure and information for a self-guided tour.

The Potato Barn, at 169 E. Vienna St. in Anna, Ill., has undergone some transformations since 1921 when Ralph Goddard began storing sweet potatoes for Union County farmers. During the 1930s and 40s, Goddard sold cream, eggs, feed and seed out of the barn and later trucked livestock and produce to St. Louis- and Chicago-area markets.

Now, Richard and Mary Stout own and operate a gift shop and restaurant inside. The Potato Barn is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

From the 1920s until 1965, the Mule Barn at 102 S. Garden St., Dongola, Ill., was a lumber yard. It was vacant from 1965 until 1992, when Carol Hanson bought and converted the barn into a restaurant, gift shop and garden center. As the name suggests, 150 years ago the building was used to house mules valued for logging, farming and the military.

Trail of Tears Lodge and Sports Resort, 1575 Fair City Road in Jonesboro, Ill., is a former barn built around 1930 and remodeled in 1988. It now houses a restaurant and seven guest rooms and offers outdoor activities including horseback riding, archery, hiking, a rifle range and miniature golf. The lodge is open year-round and features morel mushroom hunting in April.

Tony and Rhea Calaberes moved from Chicago to open the Shawnee Hill Antique Barn (and Bed and Breakfast), 290 Water Valley Road, in Cobden, Ill., in 1995. Rhea Calaberes calls it an "orchard barn" or a "Pennsylvania four-bay barn," as is the Walton Farm, 165 Lick Creed Road, in Anna, Ill. This means, says Calaberes, that the barn is cantilevered on a hillside. Animals were kept under the barn while fruit or hay was kept in the upper part.

The barn is closed between Dec. 11 and Jan. 5. The bed and breakfast is open year-round.

For further information or to arrange a group "Barnstorming Tour," call the Southernmost Illinois Tourism Bureau at (800) 248-4373 or send e-mail to sitb@ajinternet.net.