Updated 1873 farmhouse with ‘oldest standing barn in Anoka County’ lists for $975,000

With all of the carefully preserved antique features in her 150-year-old Coon Rapids farmhouse and the modern conveniences she has added, Rita Howells especially likes to talk about a part of the property outside the house itself — the old dairy barn.

“The barn is the oldest standing barn in Anoka County,” she said. “All the other barns that were built before it have fallen by the wayside.”

Thanks to the Seattle native’s extroverted efforts — shortly after moving in, Howells went door to door introducing herself to every neighbor for blocks around — the barn became a local gathering spot. She started by inviting folks to a barn dance.

“One time we had 77 people doing the polka out there,” she said. “It was really fun.”

The barn has heat and electricity and has been restored with supports to keep it structurally sound, a new roof and floor. Left intact were the cow hoofprints in the old floor, along with cat footprints and children’s handprints, now accompanied by handprints from Howells’ own five children. The barn also contains a three-car garage and a woodshop.

Howells also started an occasional store in the barn, calling it Blue Barn Boutique. She sold items made by local crafters on certain occasions, especially on opening weekend of the deer hunting season, when “deer hunters’ widows” would line up to shop. Although the property is zoned residential, Howells was able to get her business placed in the same category as rummage sales.

Now the space could be used for “whatever anyone wants to do with it,” such as restoring furniture or repairing vehicles, she said.

In addition, Howells loves things about the house itself. Once standing on 100 acres of farmland, it’s now “right in the heart of Coon Rapids,” she said, within easy walking distance of schools and shopping.

She and her then-husband purchased the 1873 home in 1993. Another man had owned the house in the 1930s, and they bought it from his family.

That owner built an addition on the house. (They found a Sears Roebuck card from 1937 in a wall, suggesting that’s when the previous addition was built.)

Howells and her ex brought the square footage to nearly 3,000 with another addition they added in 1998. When they bought the place, it contained just two bedrooms — not enough for a family that would eventually have five children.

Now the house has six bedrooms and four bathrooms, all with the same wood flooring so it’s hard to tell where the old part ends and the new part begins. The only non-wood floors are in the mudrooms and bathrooms, and the only carpet is on the stairway.

Howells’ favorite room is the owner’s suite, with its French doors to a deck that looks out over the property. It gets lots of morning sun, and “is just a beautiful room and space to wake up in,” she said.

The suite’s bathroom features a cast-iron clawfoot tub that Howells rescued from a dump and restored. The floor — which, like those of all but two rooms in the house, has underfloor heating — is covered with marble penny tile. It also has a curbless shower and a double sink.

Throughout the house, as in that bathroom, vintage features mingle with modern amenities.

“A lot of the light fixtures are either original or antiques that we brought in,” she said. “They’re historically correct, so they fit in with the era. We really tried to keep the character in the house.”

The kitchen has two ovens, a high-BTU range that can boil water quickly and includes a built-in stove griddle. The refrigerator makes four kinds of ice, including craft ice (large spheres).

Also in the kitchen is a built-in wine cooler, and wine and coffee bar. It has a brick backsplash taken from the house’s original chimney, and reclaimed wood shelves.

The large screened porch is another of Howells’ favorite places.

“We love sitting out there and having dinners in the evening or having a drink outside or waking up to morning coffee,” Howells said. “It’s lovely just to look out and have that extra space.”

Howells is glad her family had 30 years as “stewards” of the property.

“I feel like we were really blessed to have it,” she said. “It’s just been a wonderful family home; it’s allowed us to be a part of the community.”

Rita Howells (763-370-9031, ritahowellsMNrealtor@gmail.com) has the $975,000 listing.