140-year-old Crystal Lake barn could avoid demolition

Plans to demolish a 140-year-old barn in Crystal Lake have been in the works for months, but recent pushback from the Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission may have saved the barn from that fate.

The Barlina barn at 705 Barlina Road was set to be demolished by the Crystal Lake Park District earlier this fall in order to renovate Hill Farm Park. Demolition was the only financially rational thing to do after efforts to repurpose the building or even its wood were unsuccessful, said Amy Olson, Crystal Lake Park District manager of park planning and development.

But now the historic commission hopes to keep the barn standing without using it for anything and apply for an historic landmark plaque.

“We don’t have to use the building, we just have to keep it,” Crystal Lake Park District Commissioner Cathy Cagle said. “To keep the history of our community, we don’t have to spend $2 million turning it into a wedding hall. What we need to do is to commit to keeping historic buildings.”

In order to keep the barn stable, repairs need to be done including on the roof, foundation, beams and siding, Olson said. She estimates a roof replacement and siding repairs would cost more than $200,000. Board members voted 4-2 to allocate $210,000 for barn preservation repairs to the tentative budget.

Demolition work was planned to go out for bid and be completed in the spring, Olson said last month. Once the barn was demolished, the land would have been turned into a grassy lot. The district allocated $90,000 in its budget for demolition, Cagle said.

Some commissioners were weary of investing more money into the barn and worried about future costs. Keeping the barn also would change plans for the Hill Farm Park renovations, and it is unknown how neighbors feel about keeping it, Olson said.

“It’s most important to make it so it’s not a hangout place for vagrants,” Olson said. “Safety is my biggest concern.”

Crystal Lake Historic Preservation Commission members spoke to the park district board Thursday to share new historical findings of the barn. With some help from the McHenry County Historical Society, commission member Robert Wyman determined the barn was built in 1884 by a doctor named Lorenzo Lowell.

The barn and surrounding farmland were bought by Ivan Hill in 1960. He named the farm “Barlina” after his three children: Barry, Lisa and Nina, according to the Crystal Lake Historical Society. The Barlina farm was donated to the park district in 1972.

“I think it’s one of the last barns, if not the last barn, in Crystal Lake,” Wyman said. “You guys own a lot of history.”

Crystal Lake resident Jim Heisler said he visited the barn recently when he found out it could be demolished soon. He said the building is strong, especially for surviving the Palm Sunday tornado that hit Crystal Lake in 1965.

“Holy moly, what a structure,” he said. “It’s worthy.”

Heisler said he can try fundraising from private sources, so the park district would not have to bear all of the repair costs.

The preservation commission started working with the park district last year in attempts to repurpose the historic barn. Some ideas included selling the wood for reuse, renting the barn as storage for local breweries’ whiskey or bourbon barrels, renting the barn for agribusinesses or creating more garden plots in the barn.

“While this is a creative use of the space, the location and its proximity to a preschool and residential neighborhood may present some challenges,” park district Executive Director Jason Herbster said in a report to the board.

The park district board is expected to vote on the finalized budget at a meeting in April.