A Family Adventure

Seven years ago, I purchased the property where The Barn sits today with a dream in mind to build a business here. I had always wanted this property due to the fact it joined the back side of my property and had convenient access to Highway 167.

As I have always said, blessings show up when you least expect them. The previous owner knew I was very interested in the property he had used for rental mobile homes and promised I would get first offer if he ever decided to sell. One day in late 2016, I came home to a note on my door from the owner telling me to call him. 2016 had been the culmination of a tumultuous few years and with the support of my dad and mom, I was able to purchase. I cleared the property with my dad, brothers, and other family members with no set plan for it.  

In 2020 I was invited to attend a family wedding which had a beautiful service at a barn style venue that spoke to me. Right then and there I knew why I had this property and I was going to build a barn venue there. I came home and began discussing with my dad and Pvine about my idea. To his credit, Pvine immediately began mentally designing the place with me. I knew with my family’s work ethic and skills, we could make this a reality.

Spring of 2021 we had some terrible storms that caused a lot of damage across the county. Ancient trees all over were knocked down and tore up. A family member of ours had a substantial number of trees go down and had contacted my Dad for help to clear them. He knew we needed pine logs and a lot of them to build this barn and worked with my Aunt Pat and Uncle Harley to clear the trees and prep them for building. Dad sawed and skidded roughly 80 logs in total, ensuring the ancient pine trees found new life in The Barn.

In February of 2021, Raymond Harrington came with his dozer and made the dirt slab for the building site. May of 2021, we built the forms for the concrete pad and poured in June. On July 4th weekend family and friends gathered on that fresh slab to celebrate the holiday and the beginning of construction of The Barn at Cane Creek.

Dad, Pvine, and I worked day after day carrying heavy lumber for construction, one day I had the passing thought “I need to be careful with this stuff, I’m too old for this!” and like clockwork, one of those 3x10x20 boards fell off the stack directly on my foot. With me out of commission, Pvine called Suzanne to help step in. For the next 6 weeks while I was down, Suzanne jumped right into my place helping build and coordinate. Over the next 2 years, Dad, Pvine, Suzanne and I became The Barn Crew.

We decided to build the barn in phases. Phase 1 was the first 30-foot section, and when it was complete we decided to complete the roof in phases as well so we had a covered area to work going into fall and winter. For Phase 2 of the build, we elected to finish out with the help of my brother Jerry and his experienced crew, which helped us complete the building much faster in time for the Open House at The Barn on October 1, 2023. Since that day, the barn has already been a host to weddings, receptions, reunions, and holiday parties. We’re excited to have your event here!