Still Rockin' at Castle Farms

At the end of the last post, Rockin’ at Castle Farms, we left off with John VanHaver. He was the second owner of Castle Farms and an artisan in the 1960s. VanHaver worked with what remained of the dilapidated buildings on the farm. He converted the horse barn to use for metal working. To give a measure of protection from fire, he removed the beams from the hay loft. Notice the vertical rectangular slots in the stonework at the top of the stone walls in the photo at left (with the later restored roof). This is where the beams rested to support the structure and the original loft. Without the loft in place, he was able to use this building with a forge to create his works of art. On other sites he hosted art shows and workshops.

The property changed hands again to an individual that used the location to host rock concerts from the 1970s through the early 1990s. At this time, little remained of the original buildings. What did exist was in poor shape. The concerts were held in the open area that now leads to the formal garden, portrayed in the header photo at the top of this post. There were exterior walls left on the horse and cow barns (at sides in the same photo above) that served as barriers. From the Beach Boys to John Denver, Alabama to Amy Grant, crowds of up to 20,000 rocked the grounds to listen to musicians among the ruins.

                

The owner built apartment on site so that he could remain on the weekend. He did not live there. He only stayed for concert nights so he did not have to drive. Why? US 31, the road at the entrance to the property, featured parked cars where people partied on the highway. Circulation was impassable. As you can imagine, the towns people were not fond of this proprietor. In the end, he did not pay his taxes. His estate lost the property.

During much of the time when the third owner held the farm, the current owner Linda Mueller and her family visited often. At one time, they hoped to purchase the property. Alas, the price was too steep. Later, it went up for auction. Richard Mueller, Linda's husband, owned forty-five Dominos franchises at the time. Richard sold enough Dominos franchises to buy the property for around $300,000 in 2001. Then the long road of renovations commenced. While the major retrofits and building ended in 2005, they do add and improve on the regular. Richard, along with his investors, one being his friend Tom Monaghan, the founder of Dominos, poured at least nineteen million into the property to date. You read that correctly, nineteen million dollars. While the current site hosts around 200 weddings a year, this revenue helps but does not cover that cost.

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There are seven locations for weddings on the grounds. Multiple ceremonies can be held in one day. The highest number of weddings in one weekend was thirteen!

Historic guided tours, entrance tickets, school and local group events also provide income. If you notice the capital letters on plaques in the photo at left below, these are part of the scavenger hunt for children’s programs. Another attraction for the young and old is the train exhibit. These tracks remain during the winter. Everything else is removed and brought into storage. In the spring, train engines with brushes run to clean and clear the track. How neat is that?

It is evident in every direction that Linda does not maintain this property with the sole hope of profit. Her love for the history, buildings, and property flow into every aspect. She is known to tend the gardens herself. Unafraid of hard work, she can often be seen digging in the soil or designing a new facet to the parcel. 

Built in 1918, this treasure thrives 106 years later. A part is owed to the visions of Albert Loeb who first acquired the land and foremost to Linda and her family whose dream long ago became the happily ever after visitors enjoy today.

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A sincere thank you to our tour guide, Betsy. She holds a wealth of

knowledge that she shared in stories and personal experience. Betsy made our adventure at Castle Farms much richer than if we would have strolled the grounds alone. We recommend the tour for sure. Would you like to see Castle Farms? 

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for an online magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 125 Plans, in 44 languages on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. She is a proud mom of a soldier. If it were up to Rebecca, she would be traveling - right now. First up, trips to see their two grown sons. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, she tackles the craft of fiction while learning from a host of generous writers. Connect with Rebecca: Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest X/Twitter

Rockin' at Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Michigan

Castles. This word ignites images of kings and knights, even horses and gilded carriages. The stuff of fairy tales, legends, and rich history. I mentioned in an earlier post there are resources claiming forty castles exist in the United States and tens of thousands in Europe. Before 2024, I had only visited Biltmore in North Carolina, USA. This summer I ventured to Michigan with my best friend and experienced Castle Farms in Charlevoix. If you have the opportunity in the future, see the castle and take the tour to learn how this edifice transformed over the years. There were multiple purposes behind the walls and on the grounds from its inception. You might be surprised at the origins.

Why build at this location in 1918? The train from Chicago passed through Charlevoix at the time. This resource provided circulation, supplies, laborers, and a method for income. Albert Loeb, Vice President of Sears, Roebuck, and Co, served as president while the current president was helping distribute items for war effort. Loeb needed to display items for the Sears catalog in photoshoots. In the first of a series of innovative steps, he secured land. Loeb then sought a design. He visited France and various castles. Some say Château de Chambord inspired portions of the architecture. At one time the estate included over 1,600 acres of agricultural land.

The title of this post, Rockin' at Castle Farms has a dual purpose. First, the rocks in these photos emanated from local western Michigan. The locals joked that you could clear a field and next day new rocks appeared. Farmers were elated to get rid of rocks and so contribute to the building of Loeb Farms and Stables.

Truth be told, the only people to live in the castle at any time, even today, were the single workers who built the castle. Their parlor photo below shows the original roof supporting one of the conical capped rooflines, known as witches' hats. None of the other witches' hats survived. 

Later during reconstruction artisans discovered how to use poplar trees after trying other materials. Moving quickly to mill the poplar trees in three days allowed them to bend the boards to form witch’s hat roofs. The at left is a reconstructed roof on a grain silo using the same techniques.



The tiles visible on the floor in the photo above at right originally lined the inside of silos to keep moisture at bay. During renovations, the tiles that fell off over the years were salvaged to create the current floor.

Loeb not only used the castle for catalog photo shoots, but he also created a working dairy farm. Milk, cheese, and ice cream were a few of the offerings. It was possible to pull up to the cheese house in a conveyance and order cheese to go. Our tour guide wondered, the first drive-through perhaps?

During this time, the county needed income. Those in power decided to tax cows to pay for a new school. Realizing the possible loss, Loeb asked instead what type of building they wanted and how much space.
He donated land and hired workers to build the school. It is still standing. Notice the photo at right.

Thirty-six stone masons toiled to fashion the walls of the main and subsidiary buildings. As visitors walk along the walls, the techniques and styles are on display, especially in the hay loft. The changes from mason to mason are apparent. 

Blacksmiths made all metal items, door handles, hinges, and other pieces on property. Many remain.

One of the current venue buildings was once home to twenty-six Belgian horses who lived in the stables. These horses had many jobs on the farm. One purpose was to help carry ice to the icehouse - image at left. They had ice all summer long. A benefit aiding in production of ice cream.

What was the purpose of making copious amounts of ice cream, you might ask? They could not ship the excess. It just so happens that spectators of the Sodbusters baseball team would buy the ice cream while watching games. Yes. You read that correctly. Loeb farms sponsored a baseball team that practiced on site.

During the decade Loeb owned the farm, his entrepreneurial approach encouraged the farm to thrive. After his death, the property sat vacant for forty years. Michigan's weather attacked the buildings.

John VanHaver purchased the land and buildings. He salved what he could of the parcel. VanHaver then hosted art shows and metal forging workshops for income. Many of the chandeliers hanging at Castle Farms are by his hands. Next in line to acquire the land and buildings holds the second reason for the title Rockin' at Castle Farms as you will be able to read in part two, next month.

                  

As a child, Rebecca loved to write. She nurtured this skill as an educator and later as an editor for an online magazine. Rebecca then joined the Cru Ministry - NBS2GO/Neighbor Bible Studies 2GO, at its inception. She serves as the YouVersion Content Creator, with over 125 Plans in 44 languages on the Bible.com app.

Rebecca lives near the mountains with her husband and a rescued dog named Ranger. She is a proud mom of a soldier. If it were up to her, she would be traveling - right now. First up, trips to see their two grown sons. As a member of ACFW and FHLCW, Rebecca learns the craft of fiction while networking with a host of generous writers. 

Connect with Rebecca: Facebook Goodreads Instagram Pinterest X/Twitter