Blog

Aug 04, 2023

History Comes to Life at Sauder Village

By TourismOhio Posted On: Aug 9, 2023 Since history is a special interest of mine, I make it a point to visit museums, historical sites and living history locations when I travel. I take delight in

By TourismOhio

Posted On: Aug 9, 2023

Since history is a special interest of mine, I make it a point to visit museums, historical sites and living history locations when I travel. I take delight in learning how people lived in long ago times. To my mind, one of the very best places where that magic happens is Sauder Village. Located just outside of Archbold, it's the largest living history destination in Ohio, consisting of more than 55 historic buildings — many of them historic structures moved to this site — as well as working farms and gardens, all showcasing rural life in Northwest Ohio from 1803 to 1928.

At Sauder Village, history doesn't just come alive — it's downright lively. That's because great care is taken to place costumed interpreters inside most of these buildings where they answer visitor questions and tell beguiling tales of the people who once populated this region. A special emphasis is made in having a number of skilled artisans on site to demonstrate crafts like spinning, weaving, tin smithing, woodworking, and basket making that were performed by hand in the 19th century.

Like all the interpreters throughout Sauder Village, these craftspeople demonstrate their work as visitors watch and ask questions. Most of their shops encircle a Village Green located just outside the Welcome Center. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a number of these artisans to find out what they enjoy about their work.

Watch the cooper craft wooden buckets

Before I talked with broom maker Nancy Lewis, I never dreamed there was so much intricacy involved in constructing a simple broom, especially if you use machines dating to the 1850s as she does. Using "broom corn," a variety of sorghum, and not straw or hay, Lewis begins on a machine with a set of vises, clamps and treadles, then moves to a handle machine and a cutter. She demonstrated for me how she does the broom’s stitching by hand and cuts the broom's bristles to make them even.

"That makes me a seamstress and a barber as well as a broom maker," she laughed. I had no idea how many specialized brooms there are, like pot and vegetable "scrubbies" or even cake testers where individual straws are broken off to determine if a cake is thoroughly baked. If I hadn't just bought a new broom, I'd have been tempted to purchase one made in the shop.

See basket making

Basket maker Anita Mathes told me the baskets she makes are "very plain and basic," just as they'd have been in the 19th century. But then she described how she sometimes adds colors for embellishment or even adorns her baskets with ceramic handles, or even bows, flowers or buttons to make them more decorative.

Mathes surprised me by describing how many specialized baskets were used in olden times, like ones to carry eggs, vegetables or cheese, as well another one with a lid used for carrying feathers. All this intrigues her guests, with many of them expressing interest in learning the skill themselves — one visitor even videotaped Mathes at work!

When I entered weaver Roseanne Wyse's workspace, I was astonished to see four different looms of various sizes and complexity that she uses to make rugs, dish towels, coasters, table runners, bookmarks, and scarves. If you're like me, your eye will go first to the largest loom, which takes up considerable floor space and dates to the 1850s. It's a subject of great interest to all her visitors — "The men are interested in the loom, asking what kind of wood it's made of and how it was built, while the women want to know, 'How do you make these things?'" Wyse said.

She's happy to demonstrate her work but since weaving involves concentration, Wyse will oftentimes halt her work while answering questions, putting a clothespin to mark the place she stopped her work. Like Anita Mathes, Wyse proves inspirational to her visitors — she takes special delight in keeping in touch with past visitors who've taken up weaving.

When I stopped to visit the Village's cooper, Mark Breininger, he was conducting a workshop to teach several students how to make a wooden bucket using 19th-century techniques. As his students shaved pieces of wood to make them smooth and uniform in size, Breininger showed me the historic tools he uses in the workshop — like a 160-year old "schnitzelbank" (or carving bench), a croze (to make grooves), as well as various mallets and hoop drivers.

Breininger described himself as a "white cooper," meaning he produces household items commonly used in pioneer times like buckets, butter churns, and washtubs, peppering his demonstrations with stories of yesteryear, describing the once-a-week baths rural farmers would take with the entire family using the same bath water in the same washtub, starting with the father and ending with the mother and the baby. Breininger takes as much pleasure in answering his visitor's questions (the most common being "Will it leak?") as he does in performing his work. "I'm in my happy place when I'm here," he told me.

Learn about weaving

Sauder Village also has several artisans who work in "continuing trades," meaning that their main focus is not on producing pieces as they were made in the past but instead making novel works of art that are expressions of their own artistry. They welcome visitors into their studios to watch them work, creating whatever pieces they’re currently working on. The current continuing trades are blacksmithing, pottery and glass blowing.

Glass maker Mark Matthews, who describes himself as a "glass evangelist," enjoys demonstrating his artistry as visitors watch. But even while I listened to his enthusiastic descriptions of his work, I also found my eyes darting here and there in wonderment at all of his beautiful creations on display.

Matthews is especially known for his glass spheres with intricate designs embedded inside of them, everything from swirls to geometric patterns, even air bubbles shaped like skulls. His spheres making realistic interpretations of animal fur are especially breathtaking — don't miss a case in the lobby at the Visitors Center displaying many of them. Matthews likes to say he's in "the fascination business," but acknowledged that working with such a beautiful medium as glass makes it easy to fascinate people. He's received international accolades for his work, with pieces he’s created on display in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Corning Glass Museum, and the Smithsonian.

When I visited potter Mark Nafziger, he was between projects, so he showed me a variety of his finished products, like pitchers, bowls, casserole dishes, and coffee cups, all the while explaining the different techniques he'd used in making them. Several vases he showed me, for example, had been finished in a wood-fired kiln using a salt glaze. I noticed several distinctive patterns Nafziger had used as design elements in a variety of his finished pieces, clearly an expression of his own singular style. "I fuse geometry and patterns in a different way from other potters," he told me. "I think most potters would recognize my style when they see it." Should a visitor express an interest in taking one of Nafziger's creations home with them, he’s always happy to stop what he's doing and make a sale.

In fact, most of these artisans have items they've made for sale inside their workspace, but even more treasures, like handwoven fabrics and rugs and a line of socks and hats made from the wool of the Merino Sheep who reside at the Village, are all for sale at the eclectic gift shop in the Welcome Center. And should you feel inspired to learn a craft yourself, classes are offered throughout the year in quilting, rug hooking, knitting, broom making, coopering, blacksmithing, and more.

Climb aboard the train to see the village

Elsewhere in Sauder Village, visitors can literally take a walk through time, starting in the Natives & Newcomers area, depicting the lives of Native Americans and European traders in the early 1800s, complete with authentically created wigwams and a trading post. Next up is the Pioneer Settlement with homes and working farms and gardens, as well as a church, school and jail. This area demonstrates how early settlers thrived once they drained the region's Great Black Swamp, making it the extraordinarily fertile farmland it is today.

Sauder Village's newest addition, the 1920s Main Street, has storefronts of merchants showcasing period goods like jewelry, hardware, candy and dry goods, alongside a livery and gas station, fire station and a doctor's office. There's even a theater showing vintage films from the era. Just adjacent to Main Street is a rural 1920s farmhouse and barn with farm animals in the barnyard.

Other visitor highlights include a train ride around the perimeter of the village, a museum filled with artifacts and historic exhibits, and ample shopping opportunities including an old-time general store and a quilt shop with more than 3,000 bolts of fabric. Events taking place throughout the year include a fiber arts fest, a quilt show, rug hooking week, summer concerts, an antique car gathering, and a woodcarver's show.

All along the way, visitors have extensive hands-on experiences, including opportunities to churn butter or shell beans, write on old-time slate boards in the schoolhouse, watch meals being prepared, wash clothes on a scrub board, ride in horse-drawn carriages and even take a "cellfie" at the jail.

Barn Restaurant

Hungry guests can sate their appetite at the famed Barn Restaurant, housed inside an authentic century-old barn complete with hand-hewn timbers and a soaring dining area with wagon-wheel chandeliers. Definitely sample the broasted chicken and real mashed potatoes on the all-you-can-eat buffet, complete with soup and salad options as well. Since I visited on a Friday, I treated myself to a couple helpings of exquisitely prepared fish. Whatever's on hand, know that the skilled kitchen staff have prepared the day's offerings with your tastebuds in mind — their homemade apple butter is so good you’ll want to take a jar home.

The dinner rolls and extensive menu of homemade pies with made-from-scratch crusts can be enjoyed at the Barn Restaurant or at the nearby Doughbox Bakery, which offers gigantic cinnamon rolls, muffins and apple dumplings, not to mention the nearly three dozen varieties of pies baked fresh daily. I was so full from the lunch buffet that I confined myself to a delicious old-time "Ranger" cookie, made with chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and crispy cereal. A line of specialty drinks and coffees are also available.

Relax at Sauder Heritage Inn

Those who don't want to travel home after a long day at the village can overnight at the on-site Sauder Heritage Inn with 98 rooms offering the ambiance of a country inn. My own room was so spacious I could have had friends over for a square dance! Amenities included an ample armchair so comfortable I could hardly persuade myself to get out of it to climb into the comfortable bed. Elsewhere in the inn, guests can gather in the soaring lobby with cozy couches beside a brick fireplace, indoor and outdoor courtyards or underneath a 25-foot tall Great Oak Tree.

Another option is to stay at the adjacent campgrounds within easy walking distance to the Historic Village and Barn Restaurant, along with access to 30 acres of walking trails through the wetlands.

Wake refreshed and spend a second day at the Village, exploring the hundreds of activities. There's so much going on at Sauder Village, it's hard to pack everything into a single day!

Potter Mark Nafziger

Places to Stay

Where to stay the night at Sauder Village.

When to Visit

Get creative at our events and classes.

Can't-miss Dining

Enjoy homemade cooking in the village.

Plan Your Getaway

Tips to make your visit extra special.

For more historic attractions, check out #OhioTheHeartofitAll at Ohio.org.