Hillside Farm

Some wedding venues are built for the purpose. Hillside Farm was rescued for it, one beam and board at a time.

The farm on Highway 60 in Huntsville began life as the original Hillside Dairy Farm, established in 1925. When the current family purchased the property in 2006, the old barn had fallen into serious disrepair, and in 2007 they began a careful restoration.

The whole structure was moved onto a new foundation on the other side of the farm's unique salt-fired tile silo. Along the way, the family saved the original roof, the beam structure and around 90 percent of the barn sides, then added up-to-code safety features so the building could welcome guests again.

Today the barn hosts weddings and other events, with room for approximately 100 to 110 guests for a sit-down dinner. It is the kind of space where candlelight on old timber does much of the decorating.

Ceremonies can stay on the property too. Hillside Farm is home to a little wedding chapel, St. Paul's Anglican Church, Grassmere, which can hold approximately 80 guests and is ready for services. Couples can exchange vows in the chapel and then gather in the barn for dinner.

The barn is available from mid-June to the weekend before Thanksgiving, and the farm does not book weddings on long weekends. Viewings are by appointment, with spring visits beginning in May, weather permitting.

The barn was first intended only for family use, but as more and more people asked about holding their celebrations there, the family discovered how much they enjoyed helping others mark their special days. That personal, hands-on spirit is still at the heart of the place.

For couples who picture a Muskoka country wedding with a historic barn, a tiny chapel and hosts who treat the day as their own, Hillside Farm offers a setting with a century of stories already built into its walls.

• A barn for the celebration
• A chapel on site