The Teen Barn

The Teen Barn was a teenage hangout that existed sporadically from 1964 until 1972.

Calls for a place for teenagers to congregate were made loud and clear well before 1964, mostly from adults.  Washington was a small town at the time with no parks, and when teenagers did hang out, it was usually around the Square.  Talk is cheap, however, and nothing ever came of any of the discussions of teen centers in the decades leading up to the 1960’s.

In 1963 The Washington Teen Center opened on Walnut Street just east of the Square, but it apparently didn’t last long.

Help was on the way in 1964, as Howard Spurgeon offered his barn for use as a teen center.  Spurgeon, with help from the Optimist Club, the WCHS Rec Club, and concrete donated by Fred Faubel, removed the cattle equipment in the barn and poured a brand-new concrete floor.  The first event hosted at the barn was a Halloween Party in 1964.

Local businessmen George Herbst and Bob Klings also helped with the renovations, which in 1964 hoped to include heat, restrooms, and a kitchen. Spurgeon was offering the use of the barn rent-free to the Optimist Club in those early days, and the barn held dances and parties through the 1965-66 school year.

Apparently, there were problems in 1966 that led to the closing of the barn.

In 1967, the whole operation was changed to bring it back to life.  Howard Spurgeon started to charge for the use of the barn, and the Optimists held a fund-raising drive to raise $4,500 to help defray the lease's costs and fund needed improvements to the barn.  Although widely publicized in the Washington papers, the drive netted less than $2,000 in donations.  Students were then asked to pay a $5 per year membership fee to attend events, being charged an entry fee only for events where bands were playing.

There were problems in 1967 that forced the closing of the Teen Barn again.  Drinking, fighting, and a general lack of respect for the Barn property led to a re-evaluation by the Optimist Club and their chairman Robert Gairns, who was instrumental in getting the Teen Barn off the ground.  For the 1967-68 season, the Optimist upped the membership dues to $7, later lowered to $3 per year, and only allowed entry to paid members.  Apparently, the Optimists gave up on the Teen Barn after that year.

In the summer of 1968, Sue Rediger opened the Rusty Key in the basement of 101 Washington Square as a place for teens to gather in the Teen Barn’s absence.

In 1971, the Washington Adult & Youth Counseling Committee made an attempt to re-open the Teen Barn on Wilmor Road.  The group did not have any money and very little adult assistance, but a group of youths got to work clearing years of vandal and pigeon damage to make the barn workable. 

There were a few adults helping, including Todd Sloan and Don Johnson, among others.  Tragically, Don Johnson was killed in an auto accident one night, returning home after working at the barn.

This small group worked very hard, but they needed help, so the local paper several times advertised for donations and volunteer help.

During this time, the barn was used by some other organizations for their events, including the Newcomers Club.

The barn site's last known event was a carnival held in the summer of 1972. Miller Welding is currently located there.