SONGS FOR SALE: Former Country Jam Grounds Are Now on Real Estate Market
farm fields and hills that hosted festival for 30+ years could be yours
Tom Giffey, photos by Luong Huynh, Branden Nall |
After more than 30 years of music, tens of thousands of fans, and countless memories, the original Country Jam grounds outside Eau Claire fell silent last year when the long-running music festival relocated to a new site a few miles away.
Now, the former festival grounds in the Town of Union are on the real estate market.
The property on Crescent Avenue, owned by Foster Farms Inc., is being sold as two parcels, said Dan Gjerseth, an Eau Claire Realtor. It is for sale effective Tuesday, Aug. 20. Gjerseth is working with Cindy Weir, who owns a majority stake in Foster Farms Inc., to sell the property.
While Country Jam owns its new home – dubbed the Eau Claire Event District, on Eau Claire’s far north side – it always leased the festival grounds where it began in 1990.
The land was purchased in the 1940s by Weir’s grandparents, Larry and Vivian Remington, who used it to grow hay and corn and as pastureland. The property is just down the road from the former site of Fanny Hill Dinner Theatre, where the late Larry Barr began Shake Rattle & Roll – an oldies music festival – in 1987. Three years later, when Barr decided to create a country music festival, he began leasing property from his neighbors, the Remingtons.
The rest is musical history: For the next 32 years, Country Jam evolved to become a local institution, drawing top musical talent and hordes of fans. Between 2015 and 2018, the grounds were also home to the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, an eclectic gathering created by Eau Claire’s own Justin Vernon which made effective use of the woods, hills, and fields that overlook a bend in the Chippewa River.
“(Country Jam) was very good to us,” Weir reminisced in a recent interview. And while fest-goers were accustomed to the grounds being crowded with fans and filled with music, Weir and her relatives made different kinds of memories there the rest of the year. Outside a fest-filled weekend (or two) each summer, the picturesque property was quiet. The family used it for hunting, riding dirt bikes and horses, and more recently for a few family weddings.
“It is difficult,” Weir said of the decision to sell. “It’s been my whole life we’ve had it.”
The property is being sold in two parcels: The first, about 23 acres, is on the north side of Crescent Avenue, near Interstate 94. This field was used for parking by Jam-goers. Because of its location, it has the potential of being annexed into the City of Eau Claire and could be developed as housing, Gjerseth said. The asking price for the parcel is $500,000.
The second parcel, which carries a $1 million price tag, consists of about 83 acres and lies south of Crescent Avenue on the north bank of the Chippewa River. This parcel includes the festival grounds themselves – including the stage site – as well as adjacent woods and fields. Much of this land is in the floodplain so isn’t suitable for development, Gjerseth said, although a few acres on the east side of the parcel would be suitable for homes.
Gjerseth said the property, which is accessible via Paulina Street, would be ideal for hunting or recreation land.
“You have your own little sanctuary down there,” he said.
To see the real estate listings, visit danrealtygroup.com, or call Realtor Dan Gjerseth at (715) 577-8435.
Check out some more images from the real estate listing:
