Unique view: A top sight to see when visiting Holmes County, Ohio, on a summer road trip

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This is part of a new USA TODAY network project showcasing breathtaking − and perhaps, underappreciated − views throughout the United States. These are some of the most beautiful landmarks, scenic vistas and hidden gems you can truly treasure in your area.
Artist Rusty Baker died unexpectedly on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the age of 64. But the legacy of his art lives on at the Legends of Music barn he began painting 20 years ago at his home in rural Holmes County, Ohio.
His long-time partner Claudia Rozuk, with whom he traveled the globe from Peru to Kathmandu, still lives in the home they shared at 1665 County Road 150, Millersburg, about a mile west of state Route 83, at the north end of the village of Clark.
Baker enjoyed traveling around the world and painting murals in towns along the Ohio River. He collected guitars and other musical instruments and enjoyed playing them all. Of the many murals Baker did, his personal favorite was the one he did on a 60-foot by 60-foot canvas, the barn at his Holmes County home in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country.
The Legends of Music barn features the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson, Joe Walsh, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger (since replaced by windows in the barn), David Bowie, Elton John, Jimmy Page, Leon Russell and Neil Young.
There's even a tip of the hat to classical music with a portrait of Beethovewn, as well as blues legends BB King, John Lee Hooker and Willie Dixon.
He began working on the barn in June 2005, projecting an outline of the images and filling them in using an 8-inchby-10-inch photograph. He and Rozuk even got creative painting a propane tank as a Yellow Submarine next to the quartet of the lads from Liverpool, and planting a strawberry field outside of the barn. He added more musicians over the years.
Baker was a music lover, and inside the barn he had a collection of guitars he played. He hosted music jam sessions and other soirees over the years. The music coming from the barn may have been silenced with his passing, but the legacy lives on through his portraits of the many legendary artists.
'I'll remember him as a very engaging and humble artist, muralist, painter, musician, world traveler, history lover, collector and modern-day Renaissance man; but mostly as my friend,' Daniel Soha wrote on the memorial page of Baker's obituary in 2023.
'Rusty was blessed with a God given gift to be able to create visualizations on his chosen canvas, whether it be a barn or stone wall,' another friend, Steven Parsons, reflected.
'I'm guessing he never met a stranger and I'm pretty sure he's up in heaven already doing some amazing painting for God,' added Tim Leedy.
Lifelong friend and musical collaborator Cole Wengerd worked with Baker from the days when they were moved out of the house and into the barn to carry on their jam sessions. From around 2012 to 2020 they played a lot of music in the barn, just about four hours every Friday and Saturday.
Wengerd has helped maintain the barn since Baker's passing, He remembers hosting unannounced visitors to the barn while while Rusty and Claudia were off on a whirlwind trip.
"I remember leading a tour of a woman's Harley-Davidson Club from Michigan that stopped by once," he said. "This tour bus just pulled up on the country road and the people poured out and were looking at the barn, so I showed them around."
He said many great memories live on in the Legends of Music barn.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Holmes County Ohio best-scenic-view-usatoday-most-treasured-views-2025