We are 3rd generation of family living on this old Amish farm in the foothills of Mid-Missouri. Tom Cordes purchased the property from his Grandpa Max’s estate a couple of years ago. The home we live in was framed and finished by Max, with the help of family and friends in the 1990’s. Max and Grandma Betty spent weekends camping in the red chicken barn here while the house was being built. Tom remembers helping to ready the site for foundation and framing with his grandpa. Our home is a true family legacy.
We don’t have livestock (unless a couple of bunnies count) but we do keep a large garden full of herbs and vegetables and are rebuilding Paw Pa Max’s orchard. Paw pa liked to garage sale and he worked as an engineer for Anheuser Busch, so he left behind several outbuildings full of lots of interesting things to re-use and recycle. There are bits of metal in all shapes and sizes here that we aren’t even sure what they were for! We built our daughter a treehouse almost entirely from recycled materials and finds from the surrounding woods.
The barn was built by the Amish who owned the property in 1950. We have removed the upper hay loft, which was almost entirely planked in rough milled red oak. It is really exceptionally gorgeous wood, it has a mellow warm glow when finished that is unmatched in any of the new wood offered at the hardware store. Even in a rough, unfinished state it’s character is unmatched- the knots, saw marks, nail holes and natural grain variations just can’t be re-created in any way but time. We are blessed to live here as a family and carry on Paw Pa’s legacy at The Farm. He loved sharing it with family and friends and we love sharing it too. We hope that you enjoy your handmade creations from our family home as much as we enjoyed making them.