By Paula Scott

Watching a massive excavator dig the basement for the new Heritage Center at the Schumacher Homestead, the question soon arises, “how long did it take to dig a cellar by hand in the mid 1800s?” Soil sifts down from the moving bucket but it is also heavy with limestone chunks. The operator smiles and compares it to “taking apart a mountain.”

On Monday, August 7, a crew with excavator, backhoe and dump truck were making steady progress on the construction site of the Swiss Community Historical Society (SCHS) Heritage Center on the society’s property at 8350 Bixel Rd. Less than a week earlier, a ceremonial groundbreaking was attended by 75 guests who learned about the project’s development and future.

SCHS president Gary Wetherill, dressed in his docent’s costume of straw hat, pullover work shirt and denim trousers with suspenders, spoke about the eight years of discussion and planning that have been preliminary to this construction phase. He also explained how the historical society painstakingly renovated the 1843 Schumacher Farmhouse and the nearby 1854 bank barn, workshop and summer kitchen, turning the property into a living history museum.

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In 2018 the society began considering the repurposing of a local barn built by members of the Swiss Settlement. Building committee members visited the 1850s barn of Dan and Cindy Basinger, who needed a modern structure on their working farm. They hated to see the historic barn stripped for timbers or moved out of state. In December 2019 barm was formally purchased by the society.

In June 2022 the Basinger barn was dismantled and stored in preparation for repurposing at the homestead. Designs were developed for putting an interior lining of barn wood on the timber frame and then making an insulated exterior around it. The finished structure will provide climate controlled conditions perfect for hosting groups year round and for storing the society’s artifact collection, which is currently housed in a variety of locations.

The massive hole growing at the homestead hints at the scale of the undertaking. The barn’s frame includes 80-foot beams hewed from single trees. The repurposed structure will become a multi-purpose facility that will greatly expand the functionality of the homestead property. 

At the event, SCHS volunteer Chuck Niswander described how the Basinger barn had been completely and carefully taken apart by professional barn restorers and is ready to be reassembled as a multi-purpose building. The Heritage Center will include a basement with work and storage areas, and above, displays for textiles, important documents, period furniture and farming objects–bringing them out for public display. It will also be a learning center for area teachers and students and provide a large meeting room for public use. In addition, there will be a gift shop, catering area and restrooms.

Niswander thanked the society’s board for their patience: “We have the right structure and the right location that will complement the established historical site here” and he thanked “everyone who has and will become partners with this project.”

For the groundbreaking ceremony, Wetherill called forward Bluffton Mayor Richard Johnson, Richland Township Trustee Rod Goldsberry, Dan and Cindy Basinger, and building committee member Scott Basinger to each heft an antique shovel in celebration of the community effort to make the Heritage Center a reality.

When visitors return to the homestead for Fall Festival on September 23, the footprint of the Heritage Center should be established with a foundation and basement, and possibly the frame will be up.

The work of fundraising for the project will also continue. Some $400K has been raised and a similar amount is needed to complete the Heritage Center. Individuals and organizations interested in partnering with the Swiss Community Historical Society may contact Julie Stratton at 419-302-0369 or at [email protected]. The Swiss Community Historical Society mailing address is PO Box 5, Bluffton, OH 45817.