The community of De Soto has come together to help rebuild Darrel Zimmerman’s Kill Creek Barn. The original structure was wiped out by a tornado on May 12, 2010.

The barn was widely appreciated throughout the city of De Soto with the constant use of the facility. Weddings, birthdays, graduation parties, church services, etc. were held weekly at Zimmerman’s farm. The loss was not only damaging to Zimmerman, but the community was also extremely wounded.

“When the barn was destroyed there was a great outpouring, people would ask when I was going to rebuild, not if I was going to rebuild,” Zimmerman said. “I didn’t realize that people felt that strongly about it. I of course liked the barn and I knew a few others liked the barn, but I didn’t realize there was such a strong feeling for replacement within the community.”

Due to the community’s response after the incident, Zimmerman decided that he would rebuild but unfortunately, he knew he couldn’t pay for it out of pocket. To make up for the lack of funds, Zimmerman changed the zoning to an agriculture area and was granted a 50-year special use permit by the city in order to allow donations from people of the community.

After realizing he couldn’t afford it all on his own, Zimmerman established the barn as a non-profit organization through the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation. KRCF is a foundation for organizations in Kansas to have a way for donors to contribute to things vital in a community: parks, hospitals and in this case, a barn. People can now go online and make a donation thus becoming an investor in the community of De Soto.

Other changes include forming a barn association, a board of directors, a special-use permit and changing the name from Zimmerman’s Kill Creek Barn to The Barn at Kill Creek. The new barn association has an agreement with the Zimmermans for the lease of the land the barn sits on for 99 years.

“If this structure is taken care of, it could last 200 to 300 years. The materials are of outstanding quality,” Zimmerman said.

After completion, the barn rented out as well as to promote activities involved in agriculture like 4H.

Working on the reconstruction since October, the frame is now complete and with more funding, The Barn at Kill Creek should be up and running soon.

Go to www.thekrcf.org to donate for the barn today.