The interior of Le Barn, in Jefferson, is spacious and bright, with lofty beams and rafters and some rustic decor. (Molly Rains photo)
The landmark Jefferson building and events venue Le Barn is fully operational and ready for the 2024 season, business owner Marie Lindsey, of Jefferson, said on Wednesday, March 13.
The news comes after continuous challenges and permitting struggles have kept the business from opening its doors fully for nearly a decade. Lindsey credited her determined mindset, encapsulated by the words on that paper sign, with getting her to this point after nine years of work.
Le Barn, a highly visible white and green gambrel barn located near the intersection of Route 126 and Route 32 in Jefferson, was used as a hardware store prior to its sale to Marie Lindsey and her husband, Jim Lindsey.
With experience in running venues and hosting events, Marie Lindsey saw potential in the space from the beginning, she said.
The Lindseys began refurbishing the property for use as an event space soon after acquiring it in 2015.
However, a spate of challenges with renovating the building and acquiring permits slowed the couple’s progress, at times bringing their business to a standstill, Lindsey said. Now, however, with the necessary renovations completed and permits in hand, the Lindseys are ready to open Le Barn’s towering doors and welcome celebrants for the busy season ahead.
Lindsey first got involved in the events world more than 20 years ago, when she was looking for a venue to celebrate her children’s first communions and noticed a lack of reasonably priced options. Sensing a gap in the market, Lindsey began to host events in a church in Jamaica Plain, Mass., where the couple lived at the time.
When the couple was ready to relocate to Maine, Lindsey, with the equipment she had acquired through years of hosting in Jamaica Plain, saw potential in Le Barn.
The structure was built in 1905 by Dr. Fred W. Jackson, who also constructed the mansion that still stands across the road. Its roomy interior and spacious outdoor area are ideal for an events venue, Lindsey said. Additionally, she noted, she felt a desire to preserve the structure, having observed many other barns across rural Maine that were built in the same era now becoming dilapidated and disused.
“I’ve seen so many barns go down. That’s a waste,” she said.
With the help of local contractors, the Lindseys have put extensive work into refurbishing the building’s interior, including installing new bathrooms, lights, and a bridal suite with a bathroom and shower, she said.
Lindsey’s supplies — from catering equipment to burlap tablecloths, silk sashes, glassware and dishes, tables, chairs, and various decor — are housed in the storage areas above the cavernous event space. Overhead, exposed rafters interlock, filtering the rays of sunlight that angle towards the wooden floor from the building’s high windows.
Polishing up the exterior of the building will be the couple’s next step, Lindsey said.
This season, the couple is planning a soft opening to celebrate being fully operational after so many years of work. Rates will be reduced for 2024 events, Marie Lindsey said, adding that the events season will run from May to October.
As for the kinds of events that the Lindseys typically see come through their venue, Marie Lindsey said weddings are common. During her two decades hosting events in the Boston area, she noted, she often hosted “sweet sixteen” parties — but in the Jefferson area, she laughed, there are fewer of those per capita.
The upcoming season is a light at the end of the tunnel for Lindsey and her venue, she said, after enduring nearly a decade of work and tribulations. Lindsey credited the support of her family, including her children, husband, and her now late father, with keeping her aloft through the years.
A paper sign reading “Disappointed Yes, Discouraged Sometimes, Defeated Never” now hangs on the wall in Le Barn’s front office; Lindsey said that the words remind her of her father.
“He was a businessman,” she said. “I used to talk to him all the time … he was telling me, hang in there, hang in there – you will see the light.”
For more information about Le Barn, call 549-0159 or go to lebarnllc.com.
