“Are you a ghost?” a little girl once asked Schumacher Homestead volunteer Susie Gratz, who was dressed in the somber black cap, long full dress, and apron worn by women in the Bluffton-Pandora area Swiss settlement in the mid 1800s. Gratz assured the youngster that she was real and alive, and could show her how families in the area lived more than 150 years ago. This summer, Gratz will be among more than a dozen guides who will give tours at the “Swiss Haus” welcoming visitors from 1-5:00 p.m. on Saturdays in July and August.
The homestead offers a fascinating window to local history, with stories and artifacts dating from as early as the 1830s. The homestead property includes the renovated 1843 farmhouse built by Christian and Barbara Elizabeth (Luginbuhl) Schumacher, as well as a workshop, kitchen garden, replica summer kitchen, and original 1854 barn.
The Schumacher Homestead is located at
8350 Bixel Rd. between Pandora and Phillips Roads.
Just 9 minutes from I-75 exits 140 and 142 in Bluffton,
and 12 minutes from U.S. 30 in Beaverdam.
