Have I mentioned that a tornado demolished an old, historic barn on this property? It was in 2007.
You can read about the tornado here.
But the history of this property goes back much further.
Abraham Stump and Jonathan Stump were some of the earliest settlers of this area in 1846. They apparently came from Pennsylvania.
There are said to be eight fresh water springs here that were used in these early days of settlement to generate power.
A saw mill was built on the property that employed eight people who worked for $1/day in 1880. There was also a store called the Union Valley Groceries, Dry-Goods, Boots and Shoes Store.
Because of the Stumps who first inhabited this area and the businesses that they started, the area was referred to as Stump Town. The name Stump Town even appeared in some local newspapers in the late 1800's but it was never documented as an official community.
People who have been around this area for awhile still refer to this property as Stumptown.
It seemed only fitting to keep the history of Stumptown alive when we were searching for a name for our farm and cattle business.
The information I share here comes from the Nappanee Historical Society. I hope to continue to learn more.
Since 2007, the beams from the historical barn have been rotting in the elements. Once we purchased this property three years ago, this has been a hard one to accept. We'd love to be able to use these beams in the construction of our new barn, but the beams have been reduced to crumbly, weathered saw dust.
Fortunately, quite a bit of the barn siding was preserved inside one of the buildings on the property. We're hoping to use as much as we can through-out the new barn.
That's it for now.
Thanks for following.
