The Bank Barn was built as a large storage barn for hay and grain with the lower level being the home to horses and livestock. The huge doors, when opened, enabled the farmer to take advantage of the wind power to help thresh grain, the area between the doors was the “threshing floors”.  The large doors also allowed the farmer to pull their hay wagons into the barn for unloading.
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The Cupola
Each farmer chose to express himself architecturally by designing an individual style of cupola. Cupolas ventilated the immense heat generated by stored hay that was curing in the lofts and would repel lighting.  It also allowed birds into the barn to help control the rodents and insect population. And it provided a high mount for one of the farm’s most important tools, the weather vane.