Bicentennial Barn Bash being held at Girdled Road Reservation

Two hundred years ago, the Oliver Brown family built a barn on what is now the Lake Metroparks’ Girdled Road Reservation in Concord Township.

Now, the park system is celebrating the Hosea Brown Barn — named for Oliver’s son —with a bicentennial bash in honor of one of the oldest known structures in Lake County.

The free bash will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 24 and will feature old-fashioned activities, live animals, information booths and a tour of the Hosea Brown Barn, which was built in 1817. The allencompassing program includes the Lake County Historical Society and the Concord Township Recreation Department.

The 32-by-42 foot barn served as a farmstead for years, said Andy Avram, Lake Metroparks interpretive manager.

“We purchased the property (with the barn on it) in 2002, adding that section of the reservation. The barn originally housed livestock, hay and thresh wheat for many years. The Browns lived on the property, in the barn, then they built their house. We took the house down a few years ago, as it was in poor shape and not completely original.

“The barn sits on our second largest park in the system,” he said. “The barn has been recently restored, as parts were rotting, but a fair amount is original. When you walk in, you can still see the original beams. The foundation was built with giant stones. The barn was built at this location because of the many natural resources in this area.

“The people came from the Connecticut Western Reserve, that’s why there’s a lot of the old architecture indicative of that New England style. It became part of the culture, and that’s why clambakes became popular here because Ohio was much different then.”

Registration in advance is required for the Bicentennial Barn Bash. The barn is located (and parking will be) at the Skok Meadow entrance at 12415 Concord Hambden Road. A parking overflow lot, located at the South entrance of the reservation at 12926 Radcliffe Road, will have shuttle service to take visitors to the area of the barn.

With 230 people registered as of Sept. 21, Avram said the historic focus will prove quite exciting.

“This is a celebration of life back in the 1800s. It’s really cool to open up old files and it’s important to tell the stories of our parks, our landscape, our culture and our natural history.”