Our Journey | Your Destination

In 2020, Brent and Cindy Hayes found themselves spending a lot more time on the Hayes Family Farm. Shirley, matriarch of the family, mom to Brent and his brother, Rich, was battling cancer. Covid was everywhere, and the couple had just sold their 35-year-old tool rental business.  Not sure what the future looked like, Brent often spent afternoons doing his favorite thing … playing in the dirt!  With a background in construction, Brent enjoyed phone-free days on a dozer, looking for ways to enhance and maintain the farm.

Established nearly 150 years ago, it had grown from the original 243-acre Hayes family homestead to over 2500 private acres.  Set alongside four miles of the Hocking River, the property included the best of nature … towering trees, wide-open fields of green, alluring caves, moss-lined creeks, and a lot of history.  Through seven generations of the Hayes family, no part of the original land had been sold, only added to, protected.  Looking for ways to sustain the 100-year-old buildings and natural beauty of this historical farm, Brent and Cindy grabbed an opportunity when it was unearthed.

As Brent moved more and more dirt, he found himself waterfront along the Hocking River.  He couldn’t shake the idea that this private stretch of river was a great spot for a small cabin.  Over the next few months and many 3:00 AM brainstorming sessions, Cindy and Brent decided to build three cabins to generate some additional income to sustain the farm.  With the whole Hayes family committed to a family trust that would keep the 2500-acre piece intact … never developed, never sold … it seemed a great start.

One morning, a friend (jokingly) showed them a Facebook Marketplace ad for a 1928 caboose for sale in Toledo, Ohio.  The friend laughed, but Cindy’s eyes lit up!  It was the PERFECT idea. For the last decade, Cindy and Preston, their son, had taken a week-long trip dubbed The P&C Great Adventure.  Each year, they would pick a new state to visit and check out all of the notable AND quirky places, always staying at least one night in a unique form of lodging.  Having spent a night at The Red Caboose Motel in eastern Pennsylvania years ago, purchasing a caboose for guest rentals seemed like a win-win idea!  It could generate additional income, thus helping to sustain the finances of the farm, all while sustaining the history of the farm.  The stretch of land where the cabins were being built was EXACTLY where the B&O trains used to run. In fact, Brent’s dad, Jim had often shared stories of being a young boy on the farm seeing various trains come through … passenger trains, trains carrying World War II prisoners of war and circus trains with tigers and elephants!

Fast forward, 2024.  One riverfront cabin turned into three.  One caboose turned into five.  (As Brent said, “You never see just ONE train on a line”.)  Another Facebook Marketplace advertisement led to the 3:00 AM purchase of the old Millersport, Ohio train depot. (As Cindy said, “You cannot have trains without a train station”.) The various weekends Brent and Cindy spent researching different Airbnb rentals throughout Ohio inspired the addition of the four “hideouts”, community pavilion, gated stone entrance and miles of hiking trails that are now part of the Hideaway property.

To this day, you will still find Brent’s 90-year-old dad, Jim, on the riding mower cutting grass around the farm.  On a good day, Brent is back on the dozer playing in the dirt. Rich, Brent’s brother, usually stops by the farm on the way home from his Kona Ice business to check-in on Dad.  Cindy is already planning Phase II of Hideaway with treehouses.  Preston, their son, can be found in the summers painting fences and landscaping.  And Shirley, Brent’s mom?  Unfortunately, she passed away in November 2020 … but she is never far!  Known for her hospitality and ever-present bright lipstick, her spirit lives on through the beautiful cardinals often found around the property.

We hope you find the Hayes Family Farm as special as we do and that our history becomes part of your story.