The Richfield Historical Society is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization which is restoring and preserving several buildings at the Richfield Historical Park in order to create a living museum of Richfield’s history.  This museum includes log buildings from the time of the early settlers and continues through life on the saw and grist mill homestead, and then on to the era of cash cropping and dairy farming. 

 There are several distinctive areas at the 29-acre park:

• The Grist Mill, which is the central focus of the park, with all the original equipment intact.  This area includes the miller’s home, also being restored, and supporting buildings

• Pioneer Homestead, featuring log buildings which enlighten visitors about the life style of the early settlers in Richfield

• Other areas yet to be developed into more educational opportunities

 The Richfield Historical Society has enjoyed a strong and very motivated volunteer base from its inception.  This has continued to grow each year.  The majority of the work at the park is done by Richfield Historical Society (RHS) volunteers.  RHS hires contractors only when their expertise is needed.  In addition to the volunteers, RHS is supported with funding from private donations,  area businesses, and the Town of Richfield.  This combination has allowed us to achieve impressive results.  RHS welcomes new volunteers.  Special skills are not necessary.  New volunteers, trained “on the job”, will learn how to use hand tools from the past that blend with the power tools of more modern technology. 

Volunteer Your Time and Talents
Call 262-628-0443 or e-mail info@richfieldhistoricalsociety.org

• History: This large 30 by 45 timber frame structure has three floors and a basement. It was built between 1871-1873 by Andrew Messer. There is original equipment on all three floors and in the basement. The power to run the mill came from the water turbine that is deep in the basement water chase. It produced 25 hp and ran at 425 RPM.
• We plan to restore the mill to working condition, and have it powered by the original water turbine.

• Current projects include replacing flooring, restoring the milling equipment, repairing the water chase and pressure box, and finishing installation of the new windows. In the future, we will be adding the lean-to machine shed to the south of the mill which once had a 35 hp gas engine in it to power the mill in times of low water levels.

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• History: The saw mill was built in 1856 by Johann Messer. It contained a “Mulley” saw, and was powered by a water wheel. A mulley saw is similar to a two-man pit saw. A large heavy blade moves up and down. This type of saw was well suited for this area with its large native trees. The area was clear cut, and the lumber was used to build the homes and barns in the area. The remains of the foundation can still be seen on the east side of the grist mill.

• Our plan is to build a saw mill, and have a working mulley saw in it.

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• History: The original part of the house (north side) was built in the 1860’s with the south part added in the early 1900’s. The south side has a root cellar. It was heated with wood stoves and has no plumbing. Electricity was added in 1927.
• We are restoring the house to the early 1900’s era. It will be a showcase of how the Mayer family lived.
• The house committee is busy painting and refurbishing the interior. The first floor is looking great, with authentic furniture, paint and stenciling.

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• Located just west of the grist mill, it was used to shelter the horses of the mill customers in bad weather.

• The horse shed was reconstructed using salvaged timbers from an old barn. Old pictures were used to replicate the approximate size and location of the original horse shed.

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• The wood shed is near the house and was used to store the firewood.  Wood was used to heat the house in winter and as fuel to cook the family meals throughout the year.

• This building will also be restored to its original condition.

•  We have replaced the foundation and will be restoring the exterior in 2006. This will include a new roof, fascia, overhang and repair of the siding and windows.

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• Currently our dam is in major disrepair. The first dam was built in 1856 out of wood to power the saw mill. The pond was dug out and a water chase dug from the dam to the mill. This first dam worked hard. It developed many leaks.
• In 1913 the dam was replaced with one built of concrete.  A big storm in 1923 broke that dam, and it was replaced again. In 1968, the dam broke again and has not been repaired.
• We plan on replacing the dam and restoring the mill pond to its original glory.

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•  Being a subsistence farm, (a farm that produces only food for the family) there was a need to preserve the meats that had been raised and butchered.

• A small fire was built in the bottom of the smokehouse, and the meat was hung inside to “cure” or “be preserved”.

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• The large bank barn to the west of the mill house is another example of timber framing.

• The lower part of the barn was used to shelter the animals, (cows, horses, pig and chickens). The upper or main floor was used to store the hay and feed for the animals and to store the farm equipment.

• This barn served a subsistence farm, where the farmer grew only enough crops and raised animals for their own use.

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• The “outhouse” or “necessary house” is southwest of the mill house and just down the hill a bit. Because the house had no plumbing (and still doesn’t), this small “2 holer” was located a short distance from the house.

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• A sugar shack is a shed that is used for processing maple syrup. Our sugar shack is located near the granary and in a grove of maple trees. The sugar shack is 14 by 16 feet. It is timber framed with pine siding and a cedar shingle roof. The large cupola on the roof is designed to open and ventilate the shack during the evaporating process.

•  When maple syrup is made, the sap from the maple trees is boiled down at a ratio of 40 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of pure maple syrup.

• This was an Eagle Scout project built by Darin Dumke.

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• A granary is a barn used to store grain. This granary was from the Lake Bernice area.
• The Richfield Historical Society volunteer members labeled each timber, disassembled it, and brought it to the park.
• In spring of 2003, we had a good old fashion barn raising. Nineteen of our volunteers worked all day to “raise” the barn by hand. No power equipment was used. We had a great time reliving the past.
• In September of 2003, we started to cedar shingle the roof, and the reconstruction is complete. This granary is another fine example of timber framing.

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• Our pioneer homestead serves as an example of the settler’s life in the early 1800’s.

• Life was tough and simple, and the pioneers lived self-sufficient lives.

• The homestead will have a log home, a log barn, and other small outbuildings that the settlers would have had on their farms.

• The small log barn was used mainly as a shelter for the animals. It was originally the barn of Phillip Messer and moved to our Pioneer Homestead from Elmwood Road and State Highway 164.

• Currently we have the log barn in place. The roof is on, and the chinking of the logs is complete.

• In 2007, we will be taking the Motz log house out of storage and assembling it near the log barn. It originally stood to the east of Amy Belle School.

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• At the park we try as much as we can to use local youth groups needing community service hours. One project was to help improve the grounds. These groups are great assets, and we have good times working with them.

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• Boy Scouts aspiring to achieve the highest rank in scouting “Eagle Scout”, must do a community service project to fulfill one of the rank advancement requirements. The project should benefit the community and organization it is being done for, as well as be challenging. The scout needs to show leadership and organization while completing the project.

• The Historical Society tries to find appropriate projects for these boys because it benefits both the scouts and the Historical Society.
• The entry kiosk was an Eagle Scout project built by Shane Paff.
• These are the Eagle Scout projects that have been completed at the Richfield Historical Park:

• Sugar Shack -- Darin Dumke

• Entry Kiosk -- Shane Paff

• Rebuild the Water Chase -- Brad Knier

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Volunteer Your Time and Talents:
Call 262-628-2443 or e-mail info@richfieldhistoricalsociety.org