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| The Origins
of Bert's Barn |
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The Beach-Rogers Homestead - what we currently call
Bert's Barn - was built in the early part of the
twentieth century. Exactly when, we aren't sure
- records from the era when the home was built, burned in a
fire at the local courthouse in
Defuniak Springs. The Choctawhatchee Bay Survey by
the Florida Preservation Services list the construction date
for the Barn as being around 1904. By their reckoning,
the home was built for Beach and Henry Rogers, lumber barons
from Defuniak Springs. |
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| However, long-time local residents to whose family this
house has belonged, say that the home was built by sisters
Ida Beach and Ruby Rose Rogers, sometime after 1917 and
before 1936 when it was sold to B.C. McCall. In
addition, at least
one local newspaper article has the original builders as
the Stinson family. A descendant of B.C. McCall, Bert
McCall, Jr., says that his family lived in Defuniak and
traveled by ferry boat to Grayton to spend summers on the
beach. Their family name for the home was "Bert's
Barn" - named for one of the McCall's and it's resemblance
to a barn. Bert McCall's grandfather built the home's
chimney in the 1930s. |
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Front Page Photo by Michael McElroy from
The Walton Log, November 10, 1999. |
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In 1974 James Earl Ray bought the the home from the
McCalls, and he owned it until 1999, when he offered it to
anyone willing to move it, allowing him to develop the land
and while at the same time, saving the house. Late in
1999, Hibiscus moved the house across the village and
settled it next door to the coffeehouse and began
renovation. |
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| Since then, we've been hard at work: putting the
house back together (we had to move it in three pieces),
overhauling the interior and exterior, and landscaping the
surrounding property. It's been a long year and
a half, but it's been worth it! Bert's Barn opened on
April 28, 2001 and has been pleasing guests ever since! |
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Want to see more? Take our
Bert's Barn
Virtual Tour! You can also see more of
the renovation of the barn by taking our
Renovation Virtual
Tour. You can also see what's currently up
with Bert's Barn by checking out the
Bert's Barn Page. |
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Click here to check availability & place reservations |
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