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Lutze Housebarn 'Workdays' have begun April 22nd, hope to see you there/here!CSI Home Page

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Looking for other upcoming and current activities? Or our highly updated Calendar of Events?
Coming soon our Spring/Summer Newsletter, in the meantime check out the November '22 Newsletter here and our Spring '22 Newsletter here.  And going back a bit: Summer 2018 3-fold flier here, our Fall '18/Winter '19 Newsletter now available, or now our Spring 2019 Newsletter here.
Are you Volunteering or wanting to volunteer? Are you a Board member? 
Please sign up and track your time and volunteer schedule, visit our time tracker system.
Check out all our newsletters and downloadable educational materials here.  Looking to renew or become a member?  If you'd prefer we can now take on-line payments at our Membership page.
Videos?  We have a few, including the latest on Nightlife at the Lutze Housebarn
And What is Fasching?    Check out a YouTube video of a part of it in the city of Rottweil, Germany  (Chris took a timber framing workshop there way back in 2002).
More resources and goodies on our links page.

We are now on Facebook!  Become a fan, Like us, and get all the latest news and discussions! 
Look to our Facebook page for the latest photos and videos, weekly plans and more!


 

 

November 2017 saw us putting the finishing touches on the final corner of the Lutze Housebarn's main barn foundation.  That means the entire perimeter of the main building is structurally complete and sitting on a solid foundation!!
  
 Who and Where We Are
We are a non-profit tax deductible group, Centreville Settlement, Inc..  We are  dedicated to the preservation of our rural farming heritage, and offer experiences in northeast Wisconsin, USA.
Over the past years, the members and friends of the organization have assisted with the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial Wagon Train event, helped coordinate bake oven events, performed oral histories of oldsters throughout the area, and have continued to document and educate about historic buildings in the Centerville Township area of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.
Our main project has been the preservation and restoration of the National Register Lutze Housebarn, one of the few if only remaining in situ Sachsen (Saxon) German half timbered house barns in North America.
Would you like to dig into the past to learn more about local history?  Greater Centerville Historians is a branch of Centreville Settlement, Inc. that has become a model for oral history methods in Wisconsin.  Our video and audio collection will soon be available for researchers worldwide.

Our Goals and Programs

In the 1840's, many people from the Kingdom (state) of Saxony in the German Confederation, and others from surrounding European areas; settled in what is known today as the Town of Centerville, Wisconsin, USA.  They were attracted to the land of rich resources and the similarity to the homeland they left behind.  This heritage remains strong in the Centerville community today, reflected by its people, landscapes, and buildings.

Centreville Settlement, Inc. seeks to preserve this rich heritage and how it connects with earlier migrations and connections with the First Peoples thru:

Preservation of buildings:

  • Many historic and unique buildings exist in the area and are in need of preservation before they are lost forever.

Documenting buildings and businesses of the area: from our port at Hika, to the railroad at historic Centerville, to agricultural suppliers and farming operations of the area

Exploration of the 'pre-settlement' roots still to be found in the area.

Developing educational programming focused on:

  • Ethnic arts and crafts

  • Settler sufficiency skills

  • Understanding heritage and its value today

  • Restoration skills and techniques

  • Genealogy

  • Local historical research and documentation

Promoting and stimulating economic development through:

  • Bed and breakfasts

  • Cottage industries

  • Tourism sympathetic to history and preservation

  • Appropriate economic use of historic buildings

  • Promotion of local products and industry

Preserving rural history by:

  • Developing a rural historic district in which buildings can be seen in their original settings

  • Recording the oral and video history of the area for future generations

  • Insuring the serenity that attracted the original settlers

  • Restoring the Lutze Housebarn and other historic German-American buildings in the area

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Last major update: May 23, 2023  Please send email to webmaster (at) centrevillesettlement.com with any questions or comments about the web site.