Historic barn destroyed by fire near Denmark in Lee County

April 28--DENMARK -- A historic octagon barn was destroyed by a windblown fire Thursday afternoon at a farm near Denmark in north Lee County.

The barn, known historically as the Houston Octagon Barn, was located at 1561 320th Ave., on Iowa 16, a few miles east of Denmark. It was built in 1912.

Lorelei Titus-Hooper and Brad Hooper, the owners of the farm on which the 40-foot-tall barn was located, were not injured in the blaze. The couples' dog, Miles, and several horses grazing in a field near the barn also escaped injury.

"It's like losing an old friend," Titus-Hooper said Friday morning, standing about 200 feet from the century-old structure that was reduced to rubble by the blaze. The only thing left standing was a brick silo.

"I'm very, very sad, but I am also very grateful because it could have been a lot worse," she said, holding on to her husband's arm. Hooper was out of town Thursday when the fire occurred.

Several neighbors and friends of the couple were also at the scene Friday morning to assist the couple in any way they could. However, they agreed the only thing they could do was look at the rubble and savor the memories.

Titus-Hooper said she returned home from work about 3 p.m. Thursday, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"I looked outside a few minutes later and I saw flames shooting out of the center of the barn," she said. "I called 911 and ran out of the house with the dog, and by the time I got to the front of the house, the whole (barn) was engulfed. It went up very, very fast."

She was especially grateful to many neighbors who rushed to the scene Thursday after seeing the large blaze from several miles away.

"The neighbors were here first, before the fire department," she said. "When I got out of the house, they were already pulling up on their side-by-sides and utility vehicles," she said. "They were out in their fields working, saw the smoke and they knew about where to go and they came right down to see what was going on and they jumped right into action.

"They moved our pickup truck out of the way for us and they tried to move the Explorer, but it was too hot, so they couldn't. They started putting out little fires that were coming up in the yard and (they were protecting the house and the horse barn)."

She said there is no way to explain how much the neighbors helped contain the fire until fire crews arrived. A large propane tank, which did not explode, was about 40 feet from the fire.

Hooper, an over-the-road truck driver, said his wife called him about 4 p.m. Thursday and said the "place was on fire."

"I asked her if she was OK and if Miles, our dog, was OK," he said. "At first, I thought the house was on fire, but then she told it was the barn. I wasn't happy at all, but I was grateful no one was hurt and our house wasn't damaged."

Hooper said he was prevented by rules and regulations regarding "over-the-road" for over-the-road truck drivers that prevented him from continuing home Thursday night. He said he wasn't able to get to his residence until Friday morning.

Driving up the gravel road toward his house, he said it was immediately apparent the world as he knew it had changed dramatically overnight.

"Everything just looked really bare around here," he said. "When I was driving down the road (toward the farm), I could see the skyline had really changed," he said.

Fire crews from Denmark, West Point and Wever responded to the scene within a few minutes of the 911 call and spent several hours at the scene battling the fire. Denmark fire crews returned to the scene about midnight after embers re-ignited. Fire crews reported no injuries in battling the blaze.

The couple said they have no idea how the fire started, adding there was no electricity to the barn. They said they used it to store hay, Lorelie's first car, a 1972 Pontiac Catalina convertible, with a Boston tape still in the eight-track tape player, among other assorted items.

Although the convertible was not operational, she said she kept it for "sentimental reasons" because it was her first car.

"We have absolutely no idea what caused the fire," she said. "There has been a lot of speculation, but right now the fire department doesn't really know how it started."

The couple said there is no indication the fire was intentionally set, adding it likely was an accident.

They said they do not know the amount of monetary damages caused to the structure and contents. They also said it is unlikely the barn itself was insured.

"We were told when we bought the place (about 12 years ago), the barn was not insurable," Hooper said. "As far as we know, it wasn't insured."

The couple said they want to talk with their insurance agent to see if the barn may have been covered by the insurance they have on their home and other structures on the farm.

They said it's not in their future plans to rebuild the barn.

"Oh, no, were are not going to rebuild it," Hooper said. "We might someday build a shed or something if there are any embers or wood we could use, but we are not going to build another barn like that. ... It's probably a little too expensive."

In the book "Barns Around Iowa," photographer Luella Hazeltine described the Houston barn as follows:

"Unusual framing and roofing combinations distinctly mark this 1912 octagon barn. Dimension plank lumber is used in the walls and roof rafters of this 60-foot diameter barn. Interior frames of heavy timbered posts and beams secured with wooden pegs support the eight-sections of gambrel roof covered with asphalt shingles. The interior was designed to allow farm equipment to drive through the center."

On her Facebook page, Titus-Hooper posted a remembrance of the historic structure.

"Rest in Peace my Grand Old Guardian. My heart breaks for what was and what should have been ... "

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