See attached video HERE.

When Bluffton Fall Festival visitors stop by the Schumacher Homestead at 8350 Bixel Rd., they'll find a big project underway. Some eight tons of flagstone and huge retaining blocks are being used to recreate an east-facing bank, which was original to the barn.

The project began with creating a new opening and building the two large doors on the east gable end of the barn.

Recently the foundation and flagstone walls of the southeast corner were rebuilt by head mason Ron Keller using flagstone donated by Mike Gerken of the Bluffton Stone Company. The concrete floor inside the barn was broken up and replaced with stone. The debris is filling the new bank.

Now the retaining blocks are being placed to form two walls, rather like enormous Lego pieces.

Originally, wagons were driven in the east end of the barn and out the west end. The south facing bank was created in the 1880s.

Board members Seth Bixel and Jeff Althaus have worked to recreate the original design with the assistance of board member Dan Diller, mortar maker Ron Kempf, Tony Ruler, Ron Graham and Shev Shekochikhin.