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October - Building on a Community’s Heritage
2007-11-04
On the east edge of Manning stands a time machine. It is a meticulously restored German bauernhaus, or farmer’s house, a reflection of Manning’s proud German heritage.
Donated by Claus Hachmann in 1991, the hausbarn stood in Germany in a state of disrepair. After years of negotiations, the building was diagrammed, dismantled, packed, and shipped to its new home. Five skilled craftsmen, most of them German natives, and a group of volunteers began reconstruction in July 1999. A crew of experienced thatchers arrived from Germany in September 1999 to begin creating the authentic seventeenth-century-style roof.
Since the hausbarn began accepting visitors, word of the structure’s remarkable history and reconstruction has spread from Carroll County across the globe. The number of bus tours has more than doubled and the hausbarn has become the centerpiece for community celebrations such as the annual Oktoberfest and German Heritage Day.
