Minnesota landmark: The Frank Schott stone barn near Chokio

Out on the fields of western Minnesota, the Frank Schott stone barn cuts an imposing and lonely silhouette.

It was 101 years ago that Schott, a German immigrant, started building the unique stone barn near Chokio. According to a Minnesota Historical Society history of the structure, it took nearly 20 years to complete — with Schott aiming to create a building that would endure the storms that had destroyed an earlier, wooden barn.

And endure it has, for decades. It lost its roof in the 1990s, but the stone-and-concrete barn still stands tall above the surrounding fields. It’s a quiet, lonely place; there are no farms or homes within a mile in all directions — contributing to the barn being a destination for some night-sky photographers.

The barn is located in Stevens County (by a hair — Big Stone County is across the road), about six miles southwest of Chokio and six miles southeast of Johnson.

Read more about the Frank Schott barn — and see a photo of the structure before it lost its roof — on MNopedia.

If you have a connection to the Schott barn — if it’s part of your family history, or maybe you just have a great photo of it that you’d like to share — let us know! Reach out via email at akrueger@mpr.org.