An unassuming barn sits in the backyard of a duplex at 214 Franklin Street. Shelby County Historical Society Plat maps indicate that the barn was built between 1892 and 1897 next to the canal that once ran through the center of Sidney. The canal has since been filled in, but the barn remains.

Janice Baumann, of Sidney, grew up with the barn in her backyard. Her parents, Charles and Eileen Klecker, bought the house on the property the barn sits in 1948. The barn was clearly designed to house horses or mules with 4 narrow stalls, each with a door on one side and a window on the other. The barn also had a hay loft. Baumann said when she was a child there was still leftover hay in the loft.

The exact purpose of the barn has been obscured by time, but Charles Klecker was told by the previous owner that the barn had been used to house the horses or mules that pulled canal boats through Sidney.

When she was around 12 years old, Baumann turned the loft into a playhouse. Friends could access the loft with a ladder leading into a loft window. A faithful dog named Cookie, owned by Baumann, could also climb the ladder on its own but needed to be carried down by the kids when it was time to leave. The loft was fitted with a table and chairs for the kids to use. Food was brought up for meals and snacking.

The bottom half of the barn was used for storage. The Klecker family would rent out the individual animal stalls.

The house passed from Charles Klecker to his wife Eileen Klecker upon his passing. Eventually, Baumann, who was an only child, inherited the house and barn from her mom. Baumann moved out of the house and rented it out as a duplex until eventually selling it in 2019.

“Looking Back,” is a new historical series that will occasionally appear in the Sidney Daily News. Have a historical item you think would be interesting to the community? Email [email protected] with “looking back” in the subject line.