DEANSBORO, N.Y. — MKJ Farm, an event venue in Oneida County that’s been hosting weddings, is under new ownership and is getting a new name. MKJ Farm, which at one time operated as a dairy farm, is located at 6844 W. Hughes Road in Deansboro, which is southwest of Clinton. The owners are rebranding the […]
DEANSBORO, N.Y. — MKJ Farm, an event venue in Oneida County that’s been hosting weddings, is under new ownership and is getting a new name.
MKJ Farm, which at one time operated as a dairy farm, is located at 6844 W. Hughes Road in Deansboro, which is southwest of Clinton.
The owners are rebranding the property to Marshall Mountain Resort, says co-owner Dan Williams, who spoke with CNYBJ on Oct. 14. Williams explained the origin of the new name, saying that Deansboro is part of the Oneida County town of Marshall and the property has a 500-foot vertical drop from top to bottom.
MKJ Farm is planning a Fall Festival and grand reopening on Oct. 25, which will include an announcement about the name change.
Weddings will remain a focus for the venue, but the rebrand reflects plans to expand into hosting corporate retreats and picnics, college events, health and wellness summits, outdoor adventures, and other events. Besides weddings, MKJ Farm has also hosted concerts by Willie Nelson, the Charlie Daniels Band, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, Williams notes.
Besides co-owning Marshall Mountain Resort, Williams is also owner of Williams Fence and Excavating and Blueberry Brook Farm Resort, both located in Deansboro. Corey Glazier, VP and field operations manager of Williams Fence and Excavating, also co-owns MKJ Farm.
Williams and Glazier bought MKJ Farm from John (Jack) Buschmann in July of this year, as Buschmann was getting ready to retire, Williams says. He declined to disclose the acquisition price.
“We have been using the property for the last 11 years … with the Daniel Barden Mudfest. We’ve made a lot of improvements. We built this five-mile course and put up [fencing],” says Williams. “It just made good business sense.”
They’ve hosted the Daniel Barden Mudfest charity event at MKJ Farm for more than a decade. The event is named after one of the young victims of the Sandy Hook, Connecticut school shooting in December 2012. Williams tells CNYBJ that his niece lives in Sandy Hook, was a friend and neighbor of Barden, and was in the school that day. Williams attended the funeral for Daniel Barden and came up with the idea of holding a mud run in his honor and Buschmann had no problem hosting it at MKJ Farm.
After purchasing the space, Williams added a patio to the front of the barn, did some painting, and improved the available parking. He says. MKJ Farm currently has one part-time employee who handles the events and splits her time between MKJ Farm and Blueberry Brook Farm Resort.
The upcoming Oct. 25 Fall Festival and grand reopening will include more than 40 local vendors, live music, food trucks, hayrides, a bounce house, and a cornhole tournament. The event takes place from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Beak & Skiff/1911 Established is sponsoring the event.
