Historical Society

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New Bremen's Historical Museum is one of the oldest existing houses in town. In 1833, this lot (west � of old lot #26 in the original plat) was chosen by A. H. Schreiber, one of the 33 members of The City of Bremen Society.

Visiting Hours of the Museum
Sundays in June, July, and August 2-4 p.m.
Otherwise by appointment
Click here to visit the New Bremen Historic Association website

Museum History

In 1837, the lot was purchased by Gerhard Heinrich Hehemann (who was a Town Trustee in 1846-1847) and his first wife, Maria Engel Rolf. They built the house, using handhewn timbers for exterior walls, and in between the timbers, they used mud and straw (daub and wattle) and brick nogging (inserts). It was used as a residence and a shop, with an addition built on around 1846.

The plain symmetrical design of the windows and doors, the random board ceilings, the front stairway, and the house's position adjacent to the sidewalk represent the German heritage of our town's early settlers. The frontier materials and methods are crude while the style is reminiscent of the "land of the Rhine". In the fall of 1973, a group of people approached Mr. Bruce Scheer (the current owner) about the possibility of purchasing the house in order to preserve it as a landmark and museum.

Through pledges from businesses and individuals, the purchase price of $15,500.00 was reached. Thus the New Bremen Historic Association was organized as a non-profit group dedicated to the collection and preservation of all that is the history of or that has historical significance to the New Bremen area, including Lock Two and German Township. They felt that the unique German background of this small community is important enough to preserve and share with each other and with future generations. Much work was done in the early days by the founders and other volunteers to restore the building to its original "look".

The Association's first Curator, teacher Greg Parrott, brought large groups of his history students to tear off and "shovel out" old dry wall, etc. Many fund raisers were also held in the early days to fund this restoration project. The museum was completely paid for and dedicated on July 4, 1976.