Indiana Barn That Once Housed Circus Elephants Being Razed

PERU, Ind. (AP) — A historic northern Indiana barn that once housed circus elephants is being razed to make way for limited-access freeway along U.S. 31.

The Indiana Department of Transportation owns the land near Peru that's home to several barns, which once served as the Terrell Jacobs Circus Winter Quarters.

That property about 80 miles north of Indianapolis dates to the 1930s, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

INDOT spokeswoman Nichole Hacha-Thomas tells the Kokomo Tribune the site's former elephant barn is being razed for public safety because most of its roof has collapsed.

The demolition is part of work to turn two Miami County intersections along U.S. 31 into full-on interchanges as part of a $190 million plan that continues efforts to turn the highway into a freeway.