Paul and Josie Hopkins of Maple Park, Ill., are restoring this 1838 barn, one of their many projects. (Darrell Goemaat / For the Chicago Tribune)

For years Pat Huth came home from vacation with photos she'd taken of barns she admired on her journeys, but she never thought to take any of the ones around her home in central Illinois.

"I never realized how pretty the barns are right here around us," Huth said as she drove up a lane toward a 1920s barn.

Huth realized something else about barns in her home state.

"They are a dying breed," she said.

That's why Huth has joined others in Illinois to promote the restoration and preservation of these onetime hubs of farm activity.Barn preservationists say the iconic symbol of agriculture in the heartland is disappearing at an astounding rate. They estimate that as few as 10% of the barns Illinois had in the 1920s are standing.....Continue Reading

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