WEST CHESTER TWP. - Build for the future, but don't forget the past. With that in mind, West Chester Township trustees on Tuesday will consider a plan to relocate and renovate a historic barn for use as a community conference center at the new Beckett Park.

The 121-year-old Muhlhauser barn, with 15,000 square feet, is one of the largest in Ohio. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        “We want to meet the recreational needs of the community as well as capture and reclaim our history,” township parks and recreation director Bill Zerkle said.

        The estimated $2.5 million preservation project involves the 121-year-old Muhlhauser barn on Seward Road in Fairfield. The barn was built for the Muhlhauser-Windisch Brewing Co., one of the region's early breweries. The property owners are donating it to the township to make way for development.

        At Tuesday's meeting, McGill Smith Punshon of Sharonville and Fearing & Hagenauer of Mount Adams (project architects, engineers and designers) will present trustees with a schematic design and an estimate of construction cost.

        The two firms have been working on the plans with timber frame restoration expert and civil engineer David Gaker of Liberty Township.

        “This is one of the biggest barns in the state of Ohio and the tallest clear span (no interior support post),“ said Mr. Gaker, who's been asked to disassemble the barn and possibly oversee its reconstruction.

        The barn is among seven or eight raised in Butler County for Cincinnati breweries, Mr. Gaker said.

        “They were originally built for barley, but the brewers found out this wasn't barley country and ended up using the barns for hay and draft horses,“ Mr. Gaker said.

        The timbers for the barns came from Michigan and were shipped via canal to Cincinnati. Only a few of the barns remain, including the Muhlhauser barn and another smaller carriage barn on the same property.

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