The Story of Bert’s Barn

Bert's Barn has held a special place in folks' holiday memories for over a hundred years.

In 1999, James Earl Ray offered the house to anyone who would move it off the land it was built on. Hibiscus took up the challenge.

A lot of work had to be done to prepare the house for it's move. Off came the siding and other skin-deep improvements. The house was also cut into three sections, to prepare it for it's move.

Now came the really hard part. In mid-November, 1999, Bert's Barn was moved from one end of Grayton to it's new home with Hibiscus at the other end.

As you can see, the short move necessary to relocate Bert's Barn was quite an adventure. Great care was taken guiding the old house down Grayton Beach's narrow streets. Additional care was given to remove obstacles such as power lines.

Once the Barn was finally in the place prepared for it, it was necessary to ease the three pieces back together and pour new foundations.

Now came the long and difficult process of totally renovating Bert's Barn, both inside and out.

One of the more extraordinary features of Bert's Barn is the floors, crafted from heart pine, seasoned and cured for a century while serving as interior paneling for the Barn.

Soon enough, we were beginning to see progress.

On April 28, 2001, we held our grand opening for the Barn. Rescuing and renovating was a lot of hard work, but it was worth it! :)