For over 160 years, a large chestnut-log barn built by the early Hixson family pioneers sat on a ridge above North Chickamauga Creek at the Hixson family home place located near Hixson High School. Today, that barn has been relocated as a commitment by Independent Healthcare Properties, LLC (IHP), for historic preservation and to honor the early Hixson family settlers’ heritage.
“The relocation and restoration of this historic landmark is one of the most unique projects we have had the privilege to be involved with,” said Greg A. Vital, president and chief executive officer of IHP, “and we are happy to have a hand in continuing the Hixson family’s legacy. As an early Hamilton County settler family, they built the barn by hand between 1840 and 1860 on a farm that they acquired in the late 1790s.”
Mr. Vital added, “The barn proudly serves as a constant reminder of the Hixson family, and its relocation is meant for the public’s enjoyment. It will provide a site for environmental education and history studies at the local middle and high schools.”
Upon purchasing the 20-acre home place in 2007, Mr. Vital and business partner Franklin Farrow relocated the barn to a more convenient and visible site on the new Greenbriar Cove of Hixson senior services campus adjacent to Hixson Middle School.
The Greenbriar Cove campus will feature Morning Pointe of Hixson assisted living community and The Lantern Alzheimer’s memory care center of excellence, which is scheduled to open this winter.
In addition, Life Care Center of Hixson, a skilled nursing center, is scheduled for construction in the fall, and an independent living complex with rental apartments is planned in the future.
Independent Healthcare Properties partnered with The Trust for Public Land to coordinate the barn relocation efforts and donated a 1,300-foot-long easement to be a part of the North Chickamauga Creek greenway extension with the city of Chattanooga. Mr. Vital and Mr. Farrow have long been committed to preservation and conservation in Chattanooga and the Southeast region.
Mr. Vital said the relocation and restoration of the log barn pays tribute to the Hixson family’s contribution to the community they founded. Richard Way of CIF-KNA, Inc., in Walland, Tn., performed the restoration work on the barn. The total cost to relocate and restore the barn was over $45,000, paid for by IHP as a contribution to the community.
Independent Healthcare Properties, LLC, was founded in 1996 by regional healthcare entrepreneurs Vital and Farrow. Based in Chattanooga, IHP owns and manages 16 Morning Pointe assisted living and The Lantern Alzheimer’s and memory care communities in five states. It is the developer of the Greenbriar Cove master-planned retirement community in Collegedale, Tenn. and Greenbriar Cove of Hixson, a new senior services campus under construction in Hixson, Tenn. IHP’s real estate portfolio also includes commercial office and government buildings. Additional information can be found by visiting www.morningpointe.com.