Goat Tower - Findlay, Illinois

Sometimes, you hit the jackpot!!!

I did on Friday (March 19, 2010). I met David Johnson (above), owner of the "Goat Tower." He tells me that other names for the tower, such as "The Tower of Baaaaa" (which is how I found it) were given to the structure by others. Apparently, he doesn't really have a name for it. It is just there to serve a purpose, a place for the goats.

Turns out that goats are natural born climbers and they love this stuff. Even though, during my stay, we couldn't entice them all the way onto the steps. If I were given to plagiarism, I could post a pic here of the goats on the steps, as this site is actually quite popular. There are only 3 or 4 such towers in existence, it seems. This one, at 31 feet and 7 feet in diameter is the largest.

The tower was constructed by the late Jack Cloe along with all of the brickwork on the property. Jack was lured out of retirement to do the work along with his sons. The bricks used on the property are all unique, each one slightly different shape and size. Jack told the owner, at the time of constructions it was like "laying footballs." The results, however, are beautiful.

All the buildings on the property have this unique brickwork. The home is situated far out in the country, near Lake Shelbyville. Thank goodness for GPS!!! The reference to the "jackpot" in the first line of this post was meeting the owner, David Johnson (and briefly, his wife). I was standing outside the property taking photos...



... when approached by Mrs. Anderson, in her vehicle. Ready to issue an apology for my intrusion, Mrs. Anderson surprised me by inviting me onto the property for a closer look! She told me she would phone her husband to let him know I was going to take some photos. She also said that I should expect him to come speak to me. He did... and he was a wonderful, incredibly interesting host!!! The friendliness, attitude and willingness to share are the jackpot I found during that visit!

His goat tower was only one of several topics Mr. Anderson and I tackled that afternoon. During my research, I had located 3 such towers, this one, one in South Africa (which inspired this one by Mr. Anderson after seeing it in a wine magazine, "Decanter") and one in Norway, modeled after Mr. Anderson's. According to Mr. Anderson, there is at least a fourth, or more accurately a first, in Portugal, which was the inspiration for the South African location.

There is also a weather station on the property, accessible via the Weather Underground, so if you want to see what kind of weather the goats are experiencing you can check it out here.

There are also sculptures of storks on the chimney of the home. But, these aren't just any old storks, these are the same storks used by Auggie Busch, of Anheiser-Busch fame. Because the sculptures were originally commissioned by Mr. Busch, special permission was required by the maker before Mr. Anderson could acquire his storks. Papers and releases had to be signed, including promises that Mr. Anderson would not go into the beer business, and eventually he was granted permission to own the storks.

As we were about to leave this wonderful home and end our visit, Mr. Anderson asked if we had seen the "musical stones"? I hadn't, of course, so as a sort of finale, I got to see and HEAR these stones. I wish I were set up for audio so you could hear these "rocks." According to Mr. Anderson, they came from a sculptor in France. I'm not sure what goes into the different tones (weight, mass, shape, etc.) but each of them has a unique pitch and tone. They can be played much like a xylophone.

After reviewing this post, the size of these stones is not apparent. They are black granite and the approximate size is about 6 feet X 4 feet. The stones produce a clear, pure tone. The tone is the same throughout the stone, whether you strike it on the polished or unfinished surfaces. I had never even heard (pardon the pun) of such a thing and did find reference on the internet to some similar stones years ago called the "Musical Stones of Skiddaw". We'll leave the reading up to you if you want to do it.

All in all, this was one of the most enjoyable visits to date. We learned a lot about the Goat Tower and bonus material was provided. But, most importantly, the wonderful friendliness of our host was incredible.

Thank you, sir, for your kindness.

Joe