Our History

The Brick Barn is the centerpiece of the J.D. Keller Family century farm. The Keller family built the barn in 1930 after the original barn was destroyed in a fire.

The barn was originally divided into milking stalls for cows, stalls for the work horse teams, a hay loft and a silo for feed storage.

In 1950, the stalls were modernized into a new milking parlor to accommodate more cows and milking machines. In its prime, the barn housed 35 milk cows and a team of workhorses.

During the Great Depression, J.D. Keller hired a few men and women to help on the farm and in the house preparing meals and helping with chores.

One of the women J.D. hired was Lucille Chambers, who moved with her family from Missouri. At the age of 16 she moved to the Keller Farm and worked as a hired girl. She fell in love with JD's son Clarence and the two were married for almost 50 years. They were often seen holding hands walking across the barnyard doing chores together

In 2000, James Keller, Clarence and Lucille’s eldest son started renovating the barn as a way to preserve the beautiful building. He worked to gut the interior, carrying out the old equipment, insulation and even the cement floor bucket by bucket! Midway through his work they realized the potential for a unique wedding space.

The barn rehab started out as a hobby and a necessary job to preserve the farm's dignity. It then became James's labor of love. He spent countless hours preserving his family's history and a piece of Iowa's traditional farm countryside on the edge of the ever-expanding Des Moines city limits.

Today in the loft, chandeliers illuminate the space creating a soft romantic atmosphere that contrasts against the brick walls and exposed tin roof.