The Ever-Evolving History of Castle Farms

🎸 Rock Concerts, Dairy Cows & French Castles

In the charming lakeside town of Charlevoix, there’s a stone castle. The castle has been a farm, an art gallery, a raucous concert venue, and today, a fairytale wedding destination. Castle Farms is more than just a picturesque structure — it’s a place that has reinvented itself again and again since its birth in 1918. On this day, we take a look back at the multifaceted history of one of Northern Michigan’s most iconic landmarks.

It all began with Albert Loeb, acting president of Sears, Roebuck & Co. He was a man with both vision and means. In 1918, he built what was then called Loeb Farms. Loeb Farms was a state-of-the-art model dairy farm. It was designed to showcase the latest in agricultural innovations (all conveniently available in the Sears catalog). Modeled after the stone barns of Normandy, France, the farm employed more than 90 people and featured 200 Holstein cows, and 13 pairs of Belgian draft horses. They even its own baseball team: the Sodbusters.

Death and Scandal

But when Loeb passed away in 1924 and family scandal soon followed, the farm’s glory days faded. By 1927, Loeb Farms had shuttered. For decades, the buildings were used only for storage — until 1962, when artist John VanHaver breathed new life into them as Castle VanHaver, an arts community with public tours and creative spirit.

Then came the rock ‘n’ roll era. In 1969, Arthur and Erwina Reibel took over and transformed Castle Farms into one of Northern Michigan’s most memorable music venues. Picture this: a 20,000-person crowd, open-air concerts, and a stage graced by legends like Tina Turner, Aerosmith, Heart, KISS, and Bob Seger. Bon Jovi carved his name in stone, Aerosmith splashed in the courtyard well, and the traffic jams were infamous. The final show? Def Leppard on July 6, 1996.

Restoring a Castle

Enter Linda Mueller. She had first wandered through the Castle as a teenager. In 2001, she bought the aging venue for $600,000 and set out to restore its original magic. Using old blueprints, she added back original wings, replanted gardens, and returned the space to its French-inspired roots. Today, Castle Farms hosts nearly 200 weddings a year. You can also visit for historical tours, family-friendly activities, a petting zoo called Hungry Ducks Farm, and even a winery — 1918 Cellars — named for the year the Castle was built.

Whether you remember the roar of the crowd at a rock concert or you’re sipping wine in the tranquil gardens today, Castle Farms continues to be a destination with timeless appeal. And while the cows, rock stars, and baseball teams have moved on, the Castle remains — standing strong, beautiful, and full of stories.

Learn more about the rich history of the Northwest Lower Peninsula.

Marisa Fancy along with her husband and four children dreamt of moving “Up North”. They had vacationed for years in northern Michigan and in 1995 they finally made the move.

The family was always out exploring, but with 4 kids there was some limitations on what they could do. Marisa discovered the amazing network of trails in Northern Michigan after Steve died and she would walk for miles. The trails provided her with peace, comfort and solitude at a difficult time in her life. Later, after meeting Guy who would become her second husband, she learned to golf and found another passion she could enjoy in beautiful Northern Michigan.

Marisa has been the family historian, writer, and poet for as long as she can remember. She has always loved to write and has now found a creative outlet for it other than family. You can read her articles in Adventures in Northern Michigan, Northern Michigan History and Golf Up North.