If you feel like digging, and need water in the winter at the barns, there is a barn hose connection that gets the valve below the frost line. Called a yard hydrant.
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Woodford-Y34-3-Model-Y34-3-4-FPT-Non-Freeze-Iowa-Yard-Hydrant-3-Ft-Burial-Depth?gclid=CjwKCAiAm-2BBhANEiwAe7eyFK-rxR-h36q8TurNsDlBVcFAVkvaPQ1EUeIOGzeHnSp1AWmsF-GcXhoCWXAQAvD_BwE
If you don't need water at the barn(s) in the winter, make an adapter from an airline/compressor to a hose connection, and blow out the lines in the fall.
I've stopped guessing why with previous owners. Could be they had a T and a valve laying around, and not an elbow.
We just demoed a house where they tapped the actual water main between the house and the street, and ran a garden hose under ground (bypassing the meter) to the side yard.