BLUFFTON, OH (WLIO) - A local historical society is making sure that history of Swiss settlers is preserved in a future heritage center.
The Bluffton-Pandora Swiss Community Historical Society broke ground for their new center at the Schumacher Homestead, located at 8350 Bixel Road, Bluffton, Ohio. They will be reconstructing an over 100-year-old barn that was donated to them and repurposing it for their heritage center. They have been working on the center for around eight years, and the new space will give them a place to hold meetings or host school groups and help preserve the history of the Swiss settlement.
"We needed storage space. Like all museums, we have been offered all kinds of things over the years. Family heirlooms, artifacts, that kind of thing. We have been storing them in barns, attics, basements, nothing really good for preservation," says Gary Wetherill, president of the Swiss Community Historical Society. "That was the driving factor to begin with, was a place to store more of our things."
The work on the heritage center will begin in a couple of weeks and is expected to be complete at the end of 2024. To learn more about the Swiss Community Historical Society, you can visit their website at https://swisshistorical.org/
