Since Jason Hammond and Jonathan Hale (Hale Farm & Village’s namesake) settled in Bath Township circa 1810, the area has been known as an agricultural haven with acres of farmland. Although the community is now more residential, its farming heritage is still on display.
The township is home to more than 60 barns, with many more than a century old and several on the National Register of Historic Places. The Heritage Corridors of Bath Committee has worked for over 20 years to preserve the township’s history. The new Discover Bath Barns Committee aims to preserve these heritage structures. Discover the Heritage Barns of Bath Trail this summer — a self-driving tour of the area's barns along Bath's scenic byway, set to launch June 19. Residents and visitors will be able to see not just the barns but the adaptive reuse they’ve undergone. (Visit bathtownship.org for more information.)
“They represent our history,” says James McClellan, chair of Discover Bath Barns. Here are three historical barns finding new lives.
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photos by Braun Photographics, exterior photos provided by homeowner
EYE CATCHER
For generations, travelers on rural roads in the Midwest could occasionally spot a distinctive barn motif: painted advertisements for Mail Pouch tobacco. The collaboration was a win-win: farmers got their barns painted — as well as a small stipend for advertising — and Mail Pouch’s ad was seen by thousands. At their peak in the 1960s, more than 20,000 Mail Pouch barns could be found. By 1969, the company discontinued the campaign, and the number steadily declined. Those that remain are now more of a curiosity than an advertisement.
One red Mail Pouch barn can be found in Bath Township. It resides on a property owned by Mike Kahoe, previously part of a country estate belonging to the founders and owners of Bonne Bell cosmetics. The oak and chestnut barn, dating to the 1880s, was one of those originally painted by the tobacco company.
“People seem to like it,” says Kahoe, who now owns a small collection of Mail Pouch memorabilia, including tin signs and a thermometer — usually brought to him by friends who’ve seen the barn.
Using wood reclaimed from Mohican State Park, Kahoe built a walnut bar for events inside the barn in 2016. He hired an Amish construction crew to fully renovate the then-unfinished barn in 2020. The result was a climate-controlled building with 4,000 square feet of usable space. (The Kahoe family home, in front of the barn, is 4,500.) The main floor is an event space with a bar, a Golden Tee golf game, doors from Thistledown Racino, 20-foot ceilings and space to set up tables, often used for showers or workplace events. Kahoe’s goal was to keep the wooden interior rustic while adding modern amenities and updating the structure.
“We tried to keep it as original as possible,” he says, “But some of the beams had to go. They were turning to dust.”
Upstairs, a converted loft with a furnished one-bedroom apartment for guests incorporates new white oak beams and a matching door. There’s a full bathroom and a kitchen with granite countertops, hardwood floors, unique beam fixtures with suspended light bulbs and a leather couch that folds out into a king-size bed. A coffee table, on casters, doubles as storage. The stairway up into the apartment is a narrow one, so the crew cut a hole into the floor. It opens and closes to bring furniture up. “You can’t even tell where it is when you’re looking up at it,” Kahoe says.
Though the basement had a dirt floor prior to the 2020 renovation, it now features a small lounge with leather furniture and a poker table — separated by a glass accent wall from Kahoe’s woodworking shop. Concrete was used both for the floors and to shore up the foundation. “The barn was leaning pretty substantially to the southeast, so we poured concrete in the footers to support it,” Kahoe says. “This will be here for another 100, 200 years.”
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Exterior photo provided by homeowner, Interior photos by Braun Photographics
RURAL WONDER
A decade ago, Bob and Rhonda Bailey were looking to move out of their 3,100-square-foot Brecksville home. An 1895 refurbished cedar barn caught their eye — especially because of its high ceilings and open floor plan.
“Rhonda always wanted to live in a timber frame home, and I liked the open concept,” Bob says. “I saw potential.”
Akron builder Reno Alessio, who lived nearby, converted the barn into a home in the 1990s — leaving part of it for his Arabian horses. He hung structural insulated panels, helping to keep it climate-controlled, but his main goal was to maintain the look of a barn — even installing a silo to house a three-story staircase, saving floor space and affording an incredible view from a sitting room at the top. Additionally, he dug out the bank barn from the hillside (It was starting to lean, Bob says) and installed a French drain around it — there are no gutters on the roof.
Alessio wanted to avoid ductwork and keep the rugged aesthetic with exposed white oak beams. The home is heated with a boiler and radiant heat in the floor and cooled with large ceiling fans that move air from split air conditioners high on each wall.
The Baileys turned a horse-training area into a walnut-floor master suite, part of an aging-in-place plan for the couple. The room features knotty alder dressers built into the walls, accented with glass floral sculptures, and a Romeo and Juliet balcony from which blooms hang in the summer. The basement was renovated as well, its horse stables transformed into an exercise room and play area for the grandchildren. (The blended family has a total of 10, six of which are in the area.) “I had a vision we could make that into a livable space,” Bob says.
The living room features a two-story-tall stone fireplace — initially wood, now gas — with a large part of a metal weathervane displayed on it as curvy, head-turning artwork. A piece of barnwood was used for a floating mantel atop the fireplace.
The biggest project, however, was the kitchen. Bob used to own the Courtyard Cafe in Brecksville and had very clear ideas of what he wanted. “We were looking for a more modern feel,” he says. “We wanted to use some metal because there was a lot of wood in the house already.”
Formerly off the kitchen, the laundry room was moved to the basement. In its place, the couple installed a butler’s pantry with a full bar and a dumbwaiter that moves from the basement to the main floor. One wall is dedicated to hanging pots and pans, both decorative and functional — Bob has quite a collection, from cast-iron to paella to All-Clad cookware. The kitchen, with knotty alder cabinets, a large island to accommodate the grandkids and a huge commercial-grade oven, is spacious. “This is a bigger kitchen than I had at my restaurant,” he says.
In all, the Baileys ended up adding another 1,600 square feet of livable space in the 4,200-square-foot house. Their guests are impressed.
“There’s a wow factor,” Bob says.
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photos provided by homeowner
GATHERING PLACE
On the ground level of Scott Eller and Kelly Weiss-Eller’s 1840 Bath home, previously a general store and post office, you can see outlines of olden counters on the oak floor. Along with the 2,400-square-foot house, the 5-acre Hollow Grove estate also includes waterfalls and creeks, a two-car detached garage that dates to 1936 and a 1,500-square-foot red-painted cedar barn that dates to 1882. At one point, Eller says, it was a 150-acre farm — the barn was probably one of many that dotted the property.
Initially, the area surrounding the barn was overgrown with weeds and bushes but was cleared out. The oak plank floor was pressure-washed. In the winter, the building continues to be used for storage. In warmer months, however, it’s used as their main entertainment space — adapting into a dining area for up to 10 and a small sitting area or a larger open party space.
The centerpiece of the dining area is a 14-foot-long table: a Salvation Army find. “It was too long for a home. But it was perfect for the barn,” Eller says. “We host dinner parties when the weather’s nice.”
The pair retained most of the barn’s rustic character and added more, thanks in part to an antler chandelier hanging over the dining area. Some of the barn has been repurposed: An old corn crib was used for wainscoting in the basement of the home, and a root cellar was turned into a dine-in wine cellar.
Long-term, the couple’s goal is to turn the barn into an all-weather building for events and overnight guests. Plans include insulating the barn, adding a bedroom and bathroom and installing a kitchen. Weiss-Eller envisions it in the area that used to have animal stalls. “I love to cook,” Weiss-Eller says. His specialty is Italian food, and large cans of tomato sauce decorate the barn.
Any plans, however, will take into consideration the structure’s historic value — and preserve it.
“There are things here we just can’t get back,” Weiss-Eller says. “We don’t want to lose it.”
Updated June 12, 2024
