Schumacher Farm Park

A walking tour of historic Schumacher Farm Park highlighting the history of the farm and rural life in Wisconsin in the 1930s.

A walking tour on the grounds of historic Schumacher Farm Park, highlighting the buildings and implements used on the farm, as well as the people who called this place home. The tour also discusses aspects of daily life on a typical Wisconsin farm in the 1930s.

In 1892, Henry Schumacher purchased forty acres of land one mile east of the Village of Waunakee. Henry turned the land into a working farm in 1907 and hired Frank Schwenn to build the present-day cruciform two-story house for his future bride, Eveline Busby. The farm remained in the Schumacher family for nearly 100-years.

In 1908, Henry married Eveline Busby and in 1910, Marcella Philomene Schumacher, their only child, was born. Although all farming activity had ceased shortly after the death of her father in 1942, Eveline and Marcella continued renting the land to local farmers. As a teacher working in the Waunakee School District for many years, Marcella wanted to leave an educational legacy by creating a living history museum that documented and represented farm life during the early 20th century. In 1978, Marcella donated the property to the Dane County Parks Commission and Schumacher Farm Park was born.