A Wedding & Event Barn
in Hayward, Wisconsin

This historic Swedish style barn was built in the late 1800’s. The property has been on the tax rolls since 1878 and for a good part of the 1900’s it was owned by Kim Dale’s great Aunt Rose and Al Hagen. Kim and Matt Dale purchased the property in 2014 including a home which sits behind the barn, two silos and the old log farm house. The barn was in rough shape when they bought it and they knew it would take a lot of work to save it.

After some crafty renovation they did just that! A balcony and roof was added on the south side, and the entire wall and foundation was rebuilt on the north. A customized stained concrete floor was poured in the barn and a landscaped garden was added to the courtyard area where another milk house once stood. The barn features a covered balcony overlooking the courtyard, perennial gardens, and fire pit area. There is also a large lean to roof with rough sawn pine beams and shiplap ceiling covering about half of the courtyard. The barn itself is constructed with cedar posts and beams and slat sided with ancient cedar on the gable ends. The barn contains a dance floor, stage, bar and loft overlooking the area.

While uncovering the soil which had hidden the foundation of the South milk house for many years, the Dale’s found many artifacts from the old farming days. These artifacts coupled with others acquired from the rest of the property make up the bulk of the antiques that decorate the walls and gardens. Hanging windows, antiques, artifacts and vintage furniture adorn the courtyard and garden. Other antiques and vintage furniture will continue to be added from other local farmsteads and antique shops.

Matt and Kim made the rustic and eclectic chandelier out of artifacts found in the milk house one pre-wedding night that hangs in the center of the barn. Kim’s childhood marble collection is inlaid into the floor along with family members hand prints and assorted animal prints keeping the memory of the past alive in the new foundation. Much of the rough sawn pine used in the renovation was felled, sawn, and dried by Matt. The entwined branch railing on the loft above the bar had been gathered by him for years as well. The barn was, and continues to be a labor of love for this couple.

The milk house serves as a beautiful dining or gathering place with large open doors on both ends and windows along the length of the north wall. The ceiling consists of rough sawn virgin yellow pine and the walls are aged barn wood and rough sawn pine. The space is well lit with antique light fixtures and decorative lighting. One of the walls actually has scattered drawings and writing that was found under the old whitewash that coated the interior at one time.