Touring Restored Barns
Want to travel the countryside and see Michigan barns up close? Join up with the Michigan Barn Preservation Network for a day of touring with fellow barn enthusiasts and visit with owners at the featured sites.
You’ll learn about barn styles and architecture, timber framing and other traditional construction methods as we explore the current use of old barns and the potential for saving or repurposing old structures.
And if you are wondering how to fix up your barn, you can get plenty of ideas on our barn tours. Many old barns have the same problem areas and you can talk to builders, preservationists and barn owners who have solved these problems.
MBPN membership gives you priority registration for barn bus tours.
Fall Barn Tour
Co-chairs Laurie Sisco and Melissa Jaskiewicz are planning another fall barn tour in Lapeer County – this time in the northern part. (See below for last year’s tour in the southern part.)
On the bus, Melissa will again share history and stories about this region enroute to the featured barns.
Date and itinerary to come. Email [email protected], if you have questions or suggestions for the committee.
Want a Self-Driving, Anytime Barn Tour?
PAST TOURS
2024: Fall Bus Tour in Lapeer County
The 2024 fall barn tour, held on Oct. 15, featured four examples of barns that, were part of Lapeer County’s agricultural history and tradition. All have been beautifully maintained and restored. Our tour guide, Melissa Jaskiewicz, had many historical tales to tell about the people, barns and farmsteads along the way. See coverage in newsletter. View tour booklet.
2023: MBPN Fall Barn “Plus” Bus Tour
The 2023 fall bus tour in Clare and N. Isabella counties on Oct. 3 included a visit to a rural manufacturing facility, two event venues, a Barn of the Year winner, and two barn sites in various stages of restoration. Participants who arrived the day before enjoyed a traditional Amish dinner at an area farm.
The day started at Lifetime Metal Sales, where the management gave a tour and explained the benefits of using metal siding and roof panels for barn construction.
Tobacco Ranch Event Venue
Location: Clare
White Barn Venue
Location: Clare
Owners Ron and Doris Chapman used the barn for dairy cows and in the early 1950s hauled a piano to the haymow floor for community parties. After sitting vacant for a while, the barn was purchased in 2017 by Tony Eberhardt, who intended to store large round bales of hay in it. He tore out the haymow floor and poured a new concrete floor on the first level. Then it was suggested the space would make a good venue for weddings, family reunions and other gatherings. Tony pursued the idea of an event barn and made renovations to meet the codes for public use.
Parsons Barn
Location: Vernon Twp (Isabella County)
At one time this farm boasted a horse barn, a pig barn, sheep barn and a dairy barn. There were houses for the workers and another barn for them to use. Windmills pumped water, and a cistern on the back side of the barn held rainwater.
Among several early owners, W.E. Currie, a bridge contractor, was the most significant. He purchased the farm in 1886 and built the huge barn in 1914 and 1915, although other structures existed earlier. The 110-foot-long barn and its elliptical silo are very unusual.
Since 1979 the farm has been in the Parsons family. Harold and Grace Parsons purchased it in 1979. Their son Jim is the current owner. He and his son use the barn to store construction supplies and to house a few beef cattle.
O’Grady Barn
Location: Vernon Twp (Isabella County)
In 2012, the Dale Brubacker family bought the farm from Ruth Jones, daughter of Leo O’Grady. She had the foundation repaired in 1989 and interior roof work done in 2005. The Brubackers are continuing the restoration of this curved-rafter barn.
Concordia Hills Barn
Location: Farwell (Isabella County)
Built in 1884, the barn immediately captures your attention with the weathered patina of its original exterior sheathing and its dressed field stone foundation. It’s been connected to one family for nearly all of its 140-year history. Jim and Michelle Thompson acquired ownership from her family in 2015. In addition to storing hay from the farm, they currently make the barn available for family and community gatherings during the fall apple cider season and the spring maple syrup season.
Named Barn of the Year in 2021 in the Continuing Agricultural Use – Family category, this L-shaped, English-style bank barn is surrounded by hills and marshlands that were created for wildlife. The fieldstone foundation, hand-hewn timbers and small-diameter log rafters speak to its age and various uses over the years. The larger portion has three bays, while the smaller portion has two bays. Rehabilitation efforts have included replacing the wood shingles with galvanized steel, replacing doors throughout, and making extensive repairs to the fieldstone foundation.
Other Previous Tours
2022 – A Visit to the Other ‘Up North’ – Northeast Michigan Bus Tour in Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle counties bordering Lake Huron
2021 – Hadley Farm Hop (September self-driving tour hosted by Hadley Historical Society)
2020 and Beyond – Fall Color Tour in Michigan’s Thumb (This anytime, self-driving tour with the Map-N-Tour app as your guide features 12 rural sites — working, quilt and art barns as well as museums and a farmers market.)
2019 – Spring Barn Tour in Washtenaw County (Ann Arbor-based bus tour)
2018 – Spring Barn Tour in Mid-Michigan (Bus tour in Clinton and Ionia Counties)
2019 Spring Barn Tour in Washtenaw County. (Photo by Jason Miller)