In conjunction with the Year of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway, the Riverway Board is sponsoring a special presentation on historic barns of Wisconsin at the annual Lower Wisconsin Thresheree on Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Boscobel Antique Club grounds off Wisconsin 133 on Chestnut Street.
At 1 p.m., Geoffrey Gyrisco will present a program entitled, "The Development and Decline of the Wisconsin Dairy Barn: The Transformation of Wisconsin Agriculture." Gyrisco will present the story of agriculture in Wisconsin over the past 200 years with the focus on the dairy barn. The slide show will address the ways in which promotion, politics and science transformed Wisconsin into the nation's leading dairy producer in the 20th century.
Gyrisco has worked for more than 30 years in historic preservation. He co-edited "Buildings of Wisconsin" for which he wrote an essay on the rural landscape and agricultural buildings. He is a historic properties consultant and Realtor in Madison.
