The big red barn on Judge Orr Road will host its 100th birthday celebration July 4, with a barbecue fundraiser for Wounded Warriors and four bands for entertainment.Jason Blair is the barn’s most recent owner. He purchased the barn a year ago, and has renovated (or updated) most of it. ìWe put a new roof on, insulated the inside of the building, built a loading dock on the side of the building,î Blair said. ìWe installed LED lights, rebuilt the loft, rebuilt the space around the silo; we are putting some new doors on; it has a new concrete floor; and we replaced the windows with polycarbonate.î Blair said people passing by might have noticed the barn looks brighter ó he said theyíve painted 90 percent of the barn. ìThere really hasn’t been a surface on this barn that we haven’t touched,î he said. ìWe just did a complete renovation.îThe barn has an eclectic history. ìI don’t have a whole lot of information on it; I’ve tried to dig it up,î Blair said. ìThis thing has been a parachute jump school, a cleaning supply company Ö (and) part of the McCandlish ranch at some point.î He said some people who have seen the inside say it looks like it used to be a dairy barn. ìWe’re not positive, though,î Blair said. ìIt looks like milking stalls. It’s one of those things we’re still trying to trace down.îBlair said he considered trying to add the barn to the National Register of Historical Places, but he is not certain the structure is close enough to its original look to qualify or that he has enough information to apply.The red barn birthday bash is open to the public and takes place from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 4, at 13795 Judge Orr Road.ìAnybody can comeî Blair said. ìWe’re going to have four live bands playing. Just come listen to the music and have a good time.î Besides the barbecue fundraiser, a bounce house will be on site for the kids.The bands Blair has lined up are ìJustus League,î ìBoomSonix,î ìOut to Dryî and ìThe MuleTrain Express.î All four are local bands.
