After twenty years of restoration and planning, construction of the Octagon Barn Center is underway and The Land Conservancy is seeking just $400,000 by the end of November 2017 to complete its funding goal and finish the project. Several local donors, including a recent $140,000 grant from the Hughes Charitable Foundation, have pledged to match all community contributions up to $200,000. In other words, The Land Conservancy needs to raise just $200,000 to open the Barn to the public next spring. Since all available government grant programs and private foundations have already contributed $5.1 million of the $5.5 million project, The Land Conservancy hopes that local individuals, businesses and family foundations will bring the fundraising to a close so that the Center can be completed.
“I am inspired by the generosity of our supporters who have stepped up to match donations to the Octagon Barn Center,” said Kaila Dettman, executive director of The Land Conservancy. “I am grateful to all of the people who have gotten the project this far. The Barn is not just a wooden structure with a pretty roof and 8 sides. It stands for so much more.
And while being a symbol of the past makes it unique and interesting, it is the people that make it come to life. There are local residents whose parents and grandparents milked cows in the Barn or were even born in the Barn. There were volunteers who climbed the roof to painstakingly replace each and every shingle. And there are the people it will bring together.”
“I ask people to imagine when a young child of a local dairy farming family helps with a milking demonstration and connects with a child from the Bay Area, who through that interaction learns just a bit more about where his food comes from. I ask them to imagine when a young couple celebrates their future with their loved ones on their wedding day at the Barn, or when a 90 year old matriarch gathers there with three generations of her family in celebration of her birthday and her life. I ask them to imagine when an aspiring musician plays her first solo gig for a happy crowd or a young teen enters his first half marathon to raise funds for a friend with cancer. And finally, I ask them to imagine the day that a child struggling with obesity arrives at the Barn and sets out on a bike ride with his family for the first time, or when a woman in a wheelchair from the nursing home in town can enjoy a picnic with her friends and take a long, safe trip down a meandering path to the sea, designed for her,” Dettman said.
With the Barn site under construction, including through partnership with the County of San Luis Obispo, this project is closer than ever.
“Now is the time to help us complete the vision and get the Barn doors open this coming spring. Please join us in creating a place where people can come together to learn about our history, connect to the outdoors, and celebrate life’s milestones. The Center will have something for everyone, and we are so close to making it happen,” Dettman said.
The Octagon Barn Center
As a treasured cultural icon and direct link to local agricultural history, the Octagon Barn it is a symbol of our county’s commitment to productive and natural lands. The completion of the Octagon Barn Center will enhance this cherished local structure to become a functioning gathering place for locals and visitors. As the future trailhead for the Bob Jones City-to-Sea Trail, the Center will be critical to facilitating bike-friendly transportation and recreational trails.
When open to the public, the Octagon Barn Center will serve as a community gathering place to host various events; from non-profit fundraisers, professional trainings, family gatherings, and farmer’s markets, to films and music. It will be a tourist destination that reaches thousands of visitors each year and will be ADA-designed to accommodate people with physical limitations. Visitors of all ages will learn about SLO County’s rich dairy history, honoring the legacy of local farming and the efforts of local families who helped shape our community.
Targeted for completion in spring 2018, the Octagon Barn Center will be a unique place for people to learn about and celebrate San Luis Obispo County landscapes and local agriculture. Because of its central location in the County and its proximity to the City of San Luis Obispo, the Octagon Barn Center will serve a diverse constituency including San Luis Obispo County residents, businesses, and families of varying socio-economic backgrounds.
More information and photos are available at The Land Conservancy’s website at www.lcslo.org.