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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.
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:
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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:
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Ethnic arts and crafts
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Settler sufficiency skills
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Understanding heritage and its value today
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Restoration skills and techniques
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Genealogy
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Local historical research and documentation
Promoting and stimulating economic development through:
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Bed and breakfasts
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Cottage industries
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Tourism sympathetic to history and preservation
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Appropriate economic use of historic buildings
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Promotion of local products and industry
Preserving rural history by:
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Developing a rural historic district in which buildings can be seen in
their original settings
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Recording the oral and video history of the area for future generations
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Insuring the serenity that attracted the original settlers
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Restoring the Lutze Housebarn and other historic German-American
buildings in the area
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