Pennsylvania is known for its farming country, fruit belts, and unique barns along the historic Lincoln Highway route, including the Round Barn, a distinctive example of round barn architecture developed by the Shakers, whose members believed the circle to be one of the most perfect shapes. After their old barn burned, the Noah Sheely family built this barn in 1914 after writing to the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station for information on round barns and hiring architect Morris Rhodes of Chambersburg, PA. Its skeletal structure was built ingeniously with manpower rather than high-tech machines, and builder John Fritz bicycled five miles each day from his home in nearby Cashtown to work on the construction. The project used 256 barrels of cement for the foundation and first floor, and the barn has a circumference of 282 feet, a diameter of over 87 feet, and a central silo 60 feet high and 12 feet wide. It can house nearly 50 head of cattle and 16 horses or mules. As motorized vehicles became important for farmers to get crops to market, farmers could build trailers for extra freight and believed motor vehicles could do the work of four teams rather than two.