Mark Bowe’s ancestor Edward Keenan built Union, W. Va.’s, oldest church west of the Allegheny Mountains in the 1700s.
It is currently the Rehoboth Church and Museum.
“My seven-time grandfather was a cabin builder,” said Bowe, co-owner of Barnwood Living, a company that salvages antique log cabins, barns and timber frames, with his wife Cindy Bowe. “I discovered that information while tracing my family history, so I say my passion for this profession is because of genetics.”
Attendees of the Pittsburgh Home & Garden show can learn more about that family connection when Bowe, who is host of Magnolia Network’s “Barnwood Builders,” appears at the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show’s second weekend, March 15-17.
The 10-day event opens Friday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.
Bowe will be giving presentations about the work he and his crew have done all over the U.S., including Western Pennsylvania. Some of their projects have been documented for the television show, which features a group of West Virginia craftsmen who reclaim and restore some of the oldest barns and cabins in the U.S.
Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show executive director Mark Moore heard from his peers at other home shows about Bowe. He plans to take a break and attend one of Bowe’s talks.
“I got a lot of positive feedback about him,” said Moore, who was looking to add another dimension to the event. “He has so many followers who watch the show. I love his enthusiasm and knowledge and experience. He is well-respected. I think people will love it.”
Bowe, who paid his way through West Virginia University working as a coal miner, said his message will be “work hard, be kind and take pride.”
He founded Antique Cabins and Barns in 1995 — he and his crew rescue pioneer-era structures and frames to give them new life as parts of buildings and homes across the country. The name evolved into Barnwood Living.
In 2013, he became the host of the then Discovery/DIY Network’s “Barnwood Builders.” DIY re-launched as The Magnolia Network in 2022.
Bowe and his crew have reclaimed more than 500 pioneer-era structures. The show, in its 18th season has filmed 200 episodes. It airs on Thursday nights.
The West Virginia-based company has done work locally such as when Bowe and his crew collaborated with a Boy Scout troop in Oakdale to restore a 1900s log cabin by utilizing some of the original logs and others from their inventory.
“We taught the Boy Scouts how to build and it was a great learning experience for them,” Bowe said. “This business is all about craftsmanship and how good those pioneers were at building. We want to continue their legacy.”
That legacy is important, agreed Julie Donovan, director of marketing and public relations for Fort Ligonier, who watches the show every week.
She said Bowe and crew members Sherman Thompson and Johnny Jett toured Fort Ligonier on July 28, 2023, following the dismantling and re-purposing of a barn for a Fort Ligonier Association member.
The Fort Ligonier visit and the dismantling of the barn were featured in the Jan. 4 episode, as was a bank barn — a two-level barn with entrances on two sides and both levels — in Derry Township that was used on a working farm.
“They had an interest in the fort’s exact replicas of 1758 originals,” Donovan said. “It was so exciting to have them here because they appreciate the history here. It was thrilling for us.”
Bowe, who said he doesn’t have any formal training, said the price for his work varies based on what needs to be done.
Over three decades, Bowe has built, explored and honed traditional old-world skills. He has repurposed a shipping container as a log cabin and invented a folding house.
“When something is handmade, it’s made from the heart,” Bowe said. “Most of the time, handmade items are more sustainable and are of better quality than products that are mass-produced. The logs and structures that we find and rescue still have so much life in them and long for their history and new stories to be told through them.”
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The Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show is Friday through March 17 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.Tickets are $12 for adults, $11 in advance, $4 for children ages 6-12. Children under 6 are free.Bowe will give 45-minute presentations at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on March 15 and 16 and noon and 3 p.m. on March 17. He will host half-hour meet and greets after each one.
Details: pghhome.com
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people and a weekly column about things to do in Pittsburgh. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.