The Barn Event Center is one of the largest event location in
Townsend. It is a unique venue with a historical past. Our main
dining room is 4000 sq ft. with a dance floor, stage and PA system
for your use.
The
History behind the Barn Event Center of the Smokies: Cantilever
barns are pioneer farm structures found principally in East
Tennessee counties. Their characteristic features is an overhang,
or cantilever, which supports a large second story loft atop one
or more log cribs on the bottom story Most seem to have been built
mid 1900's through the early 1900's. The unusual design may derive
from German forbay barns in Pennsylvania, built into the hillside
with an overhang along the out facing side. Here in the East
Tennessee mountains there are more humid days than not. This style
barn was very useful to the farmers by keeping their equipment and
goods dry and easy to access.
The
cribs of this barn are made with logs from an 1860 tobacco
cantilever barn from Rogersville, Tennessee. The 4500 sq ft
Leconte Room is supported by three major beams that are 12 x 18 x
90 ft. long. Theses beams have 10 ft long scarf joints which are
some of the largest on records. Scarf joints are cut in a zigzag
fashion then put together like a key so that they won't move up or
down. The timbers used to build these super beams came from a dead
stand of trees that suffered a forest fire in Canada. The wood was
shopped to Oliver Springs where these huge beams were milled by
Blue Heron Timber Works. The roof support is the traditional
mortise and tenon wood pegged timber frame design as built in the
1800's. At 50 ft x 90 The Barn is the largest cantilever barn on
record.
The
beautiful leaded glass front doors of The Barn came originally
from an Old English Pub and were purchased at an antique store in
Knoxville's Old City. The antique piece at the right is pat of a
broom making set that a local blind man used to make his brooms.
The barn is decorated with antiques, carriages and freight wagons
from the mid 1800's.
The
Barn Event Center is ideal for conference planning or corporate
meetings. The Barn is designed to host small and large company
corporate events. Our built in stage and PA system offer maximum
comfort and space for presentations and award ceremonies. Our
conference rooms have wireless internet , a projector and screen
to make your presentations easy to set up and rum smoothly.
