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| Southwestern Ohio residents save barn from wrecking ball |
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By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent WEST CHESTER, Ohio — New development often means one thing - out with the old and in with the new. But some residents of Butler County (the third-fastest growing county in Ohio), and employees of Ohio Casualty Co. came to the rescue of an old barn that was in place in this township long before any of them were born.
Last weekend West Chester officials officially dedicated the reconstructed 1881 Mulhauser barn at a ceremony. The structure is located near the intersection of Union Center Boulevard and Beckett Road, an area continuously growing with new businesses and schools.
The barn once sat on an 80-acre farm and was owned by one of the prominent families behind the circa 1866 Mulhauser-Windisch Brewing Co. The original timber-frame barn was used in Mulhauser’s farming operations.
In the late 1990s the land and the barn became the property of Ohio Casualty, which eventually donated the barn structure to West Chester in 2002.
“The seed for the idea of saving the barn was planted by employees of Ohio Casualty,” said Rick Mulhauser, great-grandson to the barn’s original owner.
“Their lunch room overlooked the barn, which previously stood on Seward Road about three miles away. Those employees once witnessed the burning and destruction of another old barn in the area (Windisch farm barn) and they didn’t want to see the demise of the Mulhauser barn.”
Ohio Casualty officials worked with those in West Chester in an effort to save the barn from the wrecking ball. Construction crews dismantled the barn piece by piece. The construction included most of the original timbers, which were incorporated into the framework of the barn and can be seen on the inside of the building.
On the outside, the new building features the original slate roof with the Mulhauser name. Inside wireless Internet and a stone, gas fireplace are among the modern-day additions.
The large, three-story barn, which once housed animals, feed and farm equipment, will now be used to host wedding receptions, reunions, business meetings and other community gatherings. The barn will be under the care of the West Chester Park District.
This farm news was published in the April 2, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 4/2/2008 |
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