'You don't duplicate this': 110-year-old barn transformed into Prairie Grove's newest event venue
East of Route 176 on the edge of Crystal Lake and Prairie Grove, a gravel road leads past a creek and up a hill to a 110-year-old barn.
Just past the barn is a sprawling 65-acre landscape of grass and trees.
The setting immediately drew in Barb Weidner, who purchased the property with her husband, Gordie, in 2018. After five years of renovations and improvements, they transformed the property into Prairie Grove's newest event venue.
The Crystal Creek Farm Venue, at 2025 Route 176, Crystal Lake, will officially open in the spring. It features a temperature-controlled barn that can seat up to 250 guests and a gazebo that overlooks a pond.
Although the property has a Crystal Lake address, it is annexed to Prairie Grove.
Barb Weidner envisions the venue being used for weddings, corporate events, fundraisers, family reunions and quinceañeras.
“The first year is going to be experimental in seeing what works and what doesn't,” she said.
Much of the original 110-year-old barn has been preserved, including the original roof, beams and siding. Lights twinkle from chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and newly installed windows reveal rolling farmland and pond.
The main goal for Gordie Weidner was to keep the air conditioning and plumbing hidden, he said, so guests only experience the old historic barn. He hopes the renovations will help the barn last another 100 years.
“We try to preserve the history of it,” he said. “You don't duplicate this.”
To achieve that goal, an addition was built with restrooms, a caterer's kitchen, an outdoor deck and more space for a bar area. On the lower level of the barn is a cocktail room and a hidden area that stores water tanks, furnaces and air-conditioning units.
The Weidners built two ponds on the property with professional help. But being full-time grain farmers in Harvard, they had the experience and equipment to complete many of the renovation projects themselves.
The barn was used as a wedding venue for the first time in 2021, when the Weidners' daughter was married there. The first official wedding was held on the property this summer for a couple also working on the venue.
“It was a good way to test it out,” Barb Weidner said.
Originally, they planned to create an entirely new building, but when supply chain issues started and lumber prices increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to focus on the barn as the main venue.
The most challenging part of the process has been meeting all regulations and village codes, Gordie Weidner said.
“Prairie Grove has been dynamite through this whole process,” he said. “We're learning a lot.”
As for the future, the property eventually could host farmers markets or agritourism, Barb Weidner said.
The Crystal Creek Farm Venue is scheduling tours for anyone interested in renting the space. The first events will be scheduled in the spring, Barb Weidner said. In the meantime, she will be busy adding the finishing touches to the space.
“It's fun to see it come about and the progress we have made on it so far,” she said.