FARMINGTON -- What once was a working dairy barn, Farmington resident Tracy Vinson calls "a four-month labor of love."
Last December, Tracy's son Hunter and her future daughter-in-law Emily asked to have their wedding reception in the Farmington family barn. They had one problem: the barn wasn't ready.
Tracy's husband Brad bought a saw mill and milled every board. He built a loft, replaced the dirt floor and put in new windows. Everyone hauled off piles of junk. Finally, and within deadline, the barn looked rustic but elegant, perfect for a family gathering.
"People at the wedding just loved it," said Tracy, who works as a nurse at Jerry Pop Williams Elementary School in Farmington. "They started asking Emily and Hunter, 'Can we use the barn?' We let the first few use it and then we said, 'We think we have something here. Let's make it into an event venue!"
Today, that labor of love is called Vintage Oaks. The Vinsons opened the barn doors to the public March 2017. It's located one lot east of Farmington First Baptist Church on Rheas Mill Road.
The three-acre lot Vintage Oaks sits on has sturdy oak trees, a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, a historic family wagon, a lattice archway, a vegetable and flower garden. And that's just the outside. Inside, is a loft where a disc jockey can be above the dance floor. In the next room, Tracy sets up a buffet for her catering business. "We use all fresh veggies from our garden," she said, adding that people have a choice to bring in their own food. "We try to make it just like they want."
The extended family works together, making the venture a family affair. Daughter-in-law Emily schedules viewings. Owner and brother-in-law Brent Vinson, a landscape architect for Arvest Bank, beautifies the surroundings and stays close at hand for every event. Tracy's sister Terri Paul helps cater; her mother-in-law Donna Vinson bakes homemade bread and her mother Virginia Rose cooks desserts.
Vintage Oaks is open for family reunions, birthday parties, anniversaries, wedding receptions, office get-togethers, rehearsal dinners, private dinners and church fellowships. It's also popular as a photo backdrop. The barn fits 75 people inside, while 150 can gather outside underneath white party tents.
Bathroom facilities should be in before spring, said Tracy, and a catering kitchen by mid-summer. Rent is $800 per day.
The 100-year-old structure has a history both for this agricultural town and its recent owner. The original owner was Ewing Jackson, an attorney from Little Rock. Jackson hoped to make a living as a dairy farmer, but the city boy was unsuccessful.
Carl Odom's family lived there after that and added on to the west side of the barn. The Odoms mainly used the barn to store hay and other materials.
When Brent knew the city wanted to tear down the 100-year-old "safety hazard" barn, he hired an engineer to see if it was worth saving. It was.
Besides, he said, the barn is a part of his childhood. He and his brother Brad used to play in it as children.
"I remember that the barn would be filled to the top with hay bales," he said. "We would play at the top where you could touch the roof."
Brent's love for history and family, hard work and landscaping skills come together at Vintage Oaks.
"We keep adding to it," he said. "I think it will be something nice for the community. I see so many historical places falling apart or being torn down. We see more and more neighborhoods going up in Farmington. Pretty soon there will be no open farmlands. I wanted to preserve something from the past."
It took his nephew's wedding reception to get the barn ready for memory-making celebrations both for his immediate family and now for the Farmington community. In 2003, the woman who sold it to him had that premonition. Carl Odom's niece Carla told Brent she wanted him to buy it because, "I know you'll do something with it."
To book an event, email [email protected].
LISA FALKNOR OF FARMINGTON WROTE A COMMUNITY COLUMN FOR THE FORMER FARMINGTON POST AND IS A CORRESPONDENT FOR ARKANSAS BAPTIST NEWS.
General News on 01/10/2018