Dairy Barn Arts Center

Originally built and used as a barn to house the herd of dairy cows for the State Hospital (Athens Asylum), the Dairy Barn became its own separate institution in 1978. It was reinvented as a community space and has established itself as a local arts hub. It not only hosts traveling exhibits in its gallery space, it also does educational programming, provides classes and worker spaces for local artists, and is a popular local events venue.

Originally, there were two barns on the property, whereas currently only one exists. At the time, condition reports show that the larger barns had good bones. It was made of concrete construction, wood trussed roof with slate singles, three cupolas, a drainage system, and a finished ceiling with tongue and groove wood. 

When it was slated for demolition in 1977, Harriet Anderson pleaded to Mr. Gordon Black, director of properties at the Mental Health Centers of Ohio and asked Black to delay plans to demolish the building. She needed time to build a “team” and to come up with a plan. Her vision was “for the creation and operation of an arts and craft center which could serve the scores of craftspersons in the region, provide training and therapeutic educational experiences for mental health patients and retarded persons as well as others who would be interested, and would, in a broader sense, foster and preserve the skills, folk arts, and talents so abundant in Southeastern Ohio" (Reiser). She also made the case for the architectural integrity of the buildings on the property as well as the convenience of the location, within a half mile of downtown Athens. "If such a venture was successful, it obviously would make a marked contribution to the creation of jobs and the stimulation of the economy, not to mention the attraction for tourism.”

The first proposals show that the barn farm complex would be developed into a craft center in order to serve interests in the following media: wood (carving, sculpture, cabinetry), fiber (spinning, dying, waving, batik), metal (forging, construction, casting, jewelry), ceramics (hand-building, throwing), glass (hot and cold glass forming techniques), dance (folk and contemporary). Studios and classroom space would be built to serve the needs of local crafts persons as well as the interests of the public.

A more formal proposal was prepared by the Citizens Task Force Committee (headed by Harriet Anderson) for the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. By 1978, Harriet had succeeded in securing a future for the dairy barn. It took a combined effort from herself, her husband Ora Anderson, Hocking Valley Arts Council, artists, community leaders and citizens to save the 100-year-old barn. Not too soon after, "The Dairy Barn received its first funding in the form of $10,000 worth of grants from the O’Bleness Trust and the Ohio Arts Council" allowing for the initial work on the building to begin (Dairy Barn website). The first tasks involved winterizing and painting the barn. Then, establishing the administrative side of the nonprofit would follow.

One of the longest standing events that The Dairy Barn has hosted is Quilt National. The first successful Quilt National occurred from June 15 to July 8, 1979. The juried show of contemporary quilts developed into a biannual event and as a part of the first exhibit, lectures and workshops were offered by well-known quilters (Reiser). Today, the venue hosts a handful of exhibitions a year using both the downstairs and upstairs galleries. It offers maker spaces and studios for artists and those attending art classes and hosts children's summer camps. It has also become a popular spot for other events like weddings and receptions.

The Dairy Barn. website. https://dairybarn.org/about/history/

Reiser, Pandy. “Dairy Barn: Southeastern Ohio Cultural Arts Center.” Southeast Ohio History Center Resource Library. Nov. 13, 1989.

Southeast Ohio History Center Special Collections