LATEST NEWS Home For The Holidays LoginSubscribe Newsletters Contact HOME NEWS EVENTS COMMUNITY LINKS PHOTOS ARCHIVES PONCA CITY MONTHLY Stone Barn Story Enters a New Chapter Tue, December 01, 2020Carey Head/Staff Writer Story by Carey Head/Staff Writer According to property owner and local businessman, Russ Didlake, the 40 acres being reshaped by excavators, bulldozers, scrapers and road graders will include both an homage to history and a new use to last beyond the next 100 years. Russ purchased the property, 120 acres in all, from a descendant of J.D. and Emma Evans. The couple acquired the land in the Cherokee Outlet Land Run of 1893. E.W. Marland bought the land from the Evans as plans for Marland’s “Palace on the Prairie” were taking shape. According to local lore, Marland brought a German stonemason to Ponca City to lead the cutting and shaping of limestone quarried from the north end of the Evans’ property. Details of the unique stone barn remain sketchy, but it was purported to have been built with Marland’s instructions to incorporate arches so the masons could practice their technique before moving on to the Mansion’s construction. After Marland lost his fortune, he sold the land back to the Evans family and it became a dairy. Over time, the land became idle and the barn fell into disrepair. Russ bought the property in large part to save what was left of the 2,100-square-foot structure. “I knew we needed to save those walls, but I had no idea what it was (eventually) going to be.” John Weaver, Po-Hi Class of 1975, was brought in to lead the restoration work. With the help of Chris Musselman, Eric Roehl, Steve Hoffman and Jake Didlake, the existing stonework and arches were carefully dismantled with each stone identified, numbered and protectively placed away from construction. Weaver studied available photographs of the barn and used a number of sources to recreate the dimensions of any missing stones. The year-long effort, privately funded, has resulted in “the stone façade being brought back to its original state,” Russ explains. What were the possibilities for a going concern which capitalized on the “Four Arches Stone Barn’s” beauty and history? Although the restoration project was completed in 2017, Russ continued to dream and draw ideas for the barn’s revival. He gave his notes to Sally Talley, AIA, and her partner Richard Winterrowd, to continue the visioning process. The result is a 3,400-square-foot space which will house three offices, including two loft-style offices, and conference room. The lower level office space already is leased. He credits City of Ponca City’s Chris Henderson, Development Services Director; and Jim Fairbanks, City Engineer, for their support of the history-preserving project. Russ is general contractor and reports Musselman, Roehl and Didlake will return to the barn they worked to save as new construction is attached to the 100-year-old face. Occupancy is scheduled to take place within the next 12 months. EVENTS 28 NOV Festival of Angels 06:00 PM - 10:00 PM Pioneer Woman Ponca City OK 74604 3 DEC Ponca City’s Annual Lighted Christmas Parade 06:00 PM - 07:00 PM Grand Avenue Ponca City OK 745601 3 DEC Lighted Christmas Parade & Christmas Open House Weekend (all weekend) All Day Event 100 block east grand Ponca City OK 74601 4 DEC Free Holiday Movies at The Hub 11:00 AM - 01:00 PM 16601 West South Avenue Tonkawa OK 74653 MORE EVENTS POPULAR RECENT 1 Stone Barn Story Enters a New Chapter 12/01/2020 2 Bird Scooters coming to Ponca City on September 27 09/16/2021 3 Four Ponca City Fighters Set to Compete this Weekend in Enid MMA Competition 07/29/2021 4 Debra Rue Tells the Untold Story of the 12 Pioneer Women Statues 03/13/2021 5 Business Spotlight: Hideaway Marina 08/01/2021 THIS WEEK'S POLL Do you plan to get vaccinated? Yes No Unsure After FDA Approval HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Previous Next Facebook Twitter Instagram About Us News USA Entertainment Technology Business Policies & Info Services Classifieds Directory Real Estate Events © Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved About | Contact | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions