Pine Tree Barn Lake

Pine Tree Barn Lake

4374 Shreve Road Wooster, Ohio 44691

Official Website

Tips for Birding

The lake adjacent to Pine Tree Barn may be viewed from Lake Shore Drive, the first road south of the Pine Tree Barn parking lot. As this is a privately owned business, please view birds from the Lake Shore Drive roadside only. There is a private home at the end of Lake Shore Drive.

About this Location

Like most family businesses, Pine Tree Barn began with a dream.

Bob and Betty Dush both grew up on farms and were taught to be good stewards of the land. This led Grandpa into a career as a Soil Conservationist here in Wooster, while Grandma was a beloved second grade teacher. Bob was the first in his family to attend college, and with three kids of their own coming up, he and Betty were determined to do the same for them. Realizing they would need some extra income, they had an idea that some thought a bit crazy: Growing and selling Christmas Trees. They found and bought an abandoned farm, used the family car as a tractor, and spent countless hours tending those first seedlings. Their new baby was called “Yuletide Tree Farms”. Their hard work made it a successful operation; it was one of Northeast Ohio’s first plantation-style farms.

By the late 1960s, they were ready to expand. For years, Grandpa had had his eye on a farm 4 miles down the road, a beautiful site with rolling hills overlooking the fertile Killbuck Valley. With his typical soft-spoken charm, he shared his vision with the elderly widow who lived in the old farmhouse and convinced her to sell the property to them. The 1868 bank barn served as the perfect place for the farm equipment, as well as a place for customers to warm themselves with hot cocoa after spending time in the fields choosing and cutting their trees. Being a Soil Conservationist came in quite handy on this new farm: because of the hills and valleys, Grandpa choose species and varieties that flourished in the wide range of soils found on the farm. Always looking for new projects, he pondered the low, spring-fed wet ground in the valley. Although some told him it would never work, Bob set about building a lake, a 30-acre beauty that highlights one of the most pleasant views in the area. He was right – again!

In the late ’70s, Bob and Betty’s son Roger joined them. Roger’s dream was to grow the business in a new direction: a year-round retail shop that would be so much more than just Christmas items. From the “roots” of Yuletide Tree Farms, “Pine Tree Barn” opened for business in September 1980.

Features

  • Roadside viewing

  • Restrooms on site

Content from Official Website