Leelanau residents and visitors are invited to lock eyes with General George Washington, pay homage to the nation’s 250th birthday, and celebrate an historic Leelanau County barn that is now receiving a new round of tender loving care. Scott and Tamara Stone, residents of southeast Michigan who two years ago purchased the Bicentennial Barn on M-22 and Bohemian Road, 7.5 miles northeast of Glen Arbor, will host a rededication open house on Sunday, July 5, from 11 am until 4 pm.
The Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN) has designated the Leelanau County Poor Farm Barn as a Barn of the Year. A dedication event will be held outside the barn on Thursday, May 20, at 4 pm. A plaque and sign will be presented to Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society president Steve Stier. The public is invited to attend.
The Glen Lake Community Library will present a free documentary film, The Barn Raisers, on Friday, November 17 at 7 p.m., in the Empire Township Hall. The film explores Midwest barns through the lens of architecture, building methods, barn styles, and materials: what they tell us about the people who built them, the life they lived, and the role these “country cathedrals” played in the settling and building of our country.
The “poor farm barn” is the last remnant of what was once a haven for Leelanau County’s indigent residents who worked there raising crops, chickens and cattle in return for a place to live.