Restored dairy barn opening in September in Huntley

The Lincoln family is about to open the doors of Lincoln Farmstead, a restored 1920s dairy barn, and welcome weddings, wine tastings, yoga and other special events with rustic charm.

The longtime Huntley residents bought the 2.75-acre farm at 8401 N. Route 47, in 2016.

Barbara Lincoln, an interior designer by profession, her husband, Chris Lincoln, a home builder, and their three children have spent the past three years working on the property, which includes a renovated farmhouse where they now live. They are about to host their first wedding there in September.

Barbara Lincoln said she and her husband got the idea to create a rustic space for special events after attending a wedding in a similar-style venue in Beloit, Wisconsin.

“We were looking around thinking, ‘This is something we totally could do,’” she said.

So they started looking for barns, and found one right down the road from downtown Huntley where the family had lived since 2005.

“I walked in [the barn] and I was kind of like, ‘This is it,’” she recalled.

Although as time went on, they found the work was a bit more involved than first expected. “But it’s been worth it,” she said.

The property includes the main barn, additional indoor venues, covered patios with fireplaces, an indoor ceremony site and courtyards covered with strings of lights.

The couple’s daughter, Savannah Lincoln, 23, said she and her brothers, Chandler, 21, and Tanner, 20, all pitched in on the family dream.

“It just started as something my mom wanted to do,” Savannah Lincoln said. “She asked if we were all into it and we all agreed and it became something fun that we all got to do together.”

Savannah Lincoln said she hopes to take her newfound passion for yoga and teach yoga classes at the barn, as well.

There still is work to be done, but Barbara Lincoln said they are “on track to open in September.” Already there are four weddings booked for next year, she said. The venue has partnered with several caterers and bartending services that can be hired to provide food, food trucks and drinks.

Larry Cornett, executive director of the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce, said the new venue is a “unique” space.

“I think it will be wonderful in our area,” Cornett said, noting other new businesses that have recently come to the area including Sew Hop’d Brewery and Taproom. “It’s just going to be another great thing to have in our community.”