Our Swiss Story: Historical Events of the Mennonite and Reformed Swiss Settlement in Allen & Putnam Counties, Ohio is a 2026 update to the classic work by P.B. Amstutz. Historian Fred Steiner has added accounts of Swiss Reformed and Mennonite pioneer women, business owners, teachers, church and community leaders and persons of national prominence.
It also includes the locations of 60 Swiss immigrant farmsteads and 16 Settlement country schools, as well as more than 230 burials in the early Reformed and Mennonite cemeteries.
LOCAL PURCHASE Call Director Neil Allen at 567-387-9208 and arrange a pick-up time at the Heritage Center. Stop by the Black Lab Trading Company at 121 N. Main St Bluffton, Monday-Friday 10:00 AM-5:30 PM or Saturday 10:00 AM-3:00 PM.
MAIL ORDER To order by mail, please provide the following with a payment of $37 (per copy) to SCHS, P.O. Box 5, Bluffton, OH 45817.
Name Address with street, city, state, zip code Phone Email
Thank you to Diane Dillman Elshire and Jim Dillman for donating a set of 11 beautiful trays that once belonged to their grandmother, Ella Luginbuhl Dillman to the SCHS to use in the Heritage Center kitchen. (CLICK on photos to enlarge)
Diane and Jim told of the trays being used to serve refreshments for Sunday School parties in Ella’s home on Zurfluh Road, Bluffton, Ohio. According to Diane the Sunday School class would meet in member’s homes once a month.
The photo of the group of women below is the actual Sunday school class that Ella Luginbuhl Dillman attended at Ebenezer Mennonite Church. The attached Sunday School greeting was from teacher Elias Augsburger. (Thank you to Nancy Crawford Spallinger for these two mementoes.)
Note that during this time period, in the early 1900’s the women and men in our Swiss Settlement had separate Sunday School classes. It was not until the mid 1930’s that married couples could attend the same Sunday School class. All Sunday School classes for adults were held in the Sanctuary of the Ebenezer Church with the women sitting on the right and the men sitting in the left. With time, the rows of men and women in the front pews diminished. As late as the 1970’s, there were still some older church members following this tradition. As these members passed away, so did the tradition.
Not only are the trays beautiful, but the original box and label is unique. The trays were bought from the Stager Home Store on 309 North Main Street, Bluffton, Ohio. The trays were sent from the Joseph Hahn Company of Chicago, Illinois.
Ella E. Luginbuhl was born in 1893, the daughter of Amos Luginbuhl (1872-1959) and Sarah Zurfluh (1874-1972). Amos was the son of Johannes U. Luginbuhl (1841-1920) and Catherine Hilty Luginbuhl (1852-1886). Sarah Zurfluh (1874-1972) was the daughter Abraham Zurfluh (1833-1923) and Marianna Ramseier Zurfluh (1832-1887).
Ella married Bud Henry Dillman (1881-1937) and they had two children Donald (1917-1975) and Robert (1919-1995). Donald married Treva Martha Basinger (1918-2016) and they had three children James Dillman, Diane Dillman Elshire and the late Marilyn Dillman Basinger.
Photographs from Diane Dillman Elshire, Nancy Crawford Spallinger and Kaye Phillips
Second Saturday activities on August 8, 2026 will focus on putting food by for the winter. Stay tuned for details!
Please note that online information for the Schumacher Homestead now lists our location as 8350 Bixel Rd., Pandora, OH 45877. We have not moved–we are just making our address more accurate for directions.
The Swiss Community Historical Society mailing address is still P.O. Box 5, Bluffton, OH 45817.
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Well, there weren’t any lions or tigers but there probably were bears (and definitely wolves) when the Swiss settlers began to arrive in the Bluffton/Pandora area.
Join us on Saturday, July 11, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Schumacher Homestead and Swiss Heritage Center, 8350 Bixel Road, for a look at the critters that our Swiss ancestors had to deal with when they began to build “The Settlement.”
The Johnny Appleseed Park District, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Hancock Park District will have displays of furs, taxidermy and possibly some live creatures to show what lived here. The theme of the day is “Critters, Flitters, and Gallinippers,” but you’ll have to come to the event to learn what a Gallinipper is.
Tours of the 1843 Schumacher house, garden, tool house and summer kitchen will be available starting at the house. Admission is $5.00 for visitors sixteen and older; members and children are free.
A new translation of P.B. Amstutz’s history of the Settlement with additional information by Fred Steiner will be available for purchase and for pickup if you pre-ordered.
UP NEXT On August 8, the 2nd Saturday activities will focus on “putting food by.” Guests can help docents get food ready for winter.
The Swiss Community Historical Society is excited to host its annual Swiss Day at the Swiss Heritage Center on Sunday, June 28. This is the first time Swiss Day will be held at the new center at the homestead. The event is for historical society members and non-members with an interest in the history of early Bluffton and Pandora.
Participants are asked to bring a hot and cold dish and their own tableware, gather at 12:30 p.m. and plan to eat at 1:00 p.m.
The day will include the Swiss Society’s annual business meeting and the election of officers, including a new interim President, Chuck Niswander.
The event will also launch an expanded version of the P.B. Amstutz book “Historical Events of the Mennoite Settlement in Allen and Putnam Counties” by Fred Steiner, who will be in attendance.
Visit the Schumacher Homestead for summer events and activities from 1:00-4:00 p.m. on the 2nd Saturday of June, July and August 2026.
JUNE 13 – Tag You’re It!: Swiss Settlement games & toys
JULY 11 – Critters, Spitters, and Gallinippers, Early Swiss critters
AUGUST 8 – Theme to be announced
The first floor of the farmhouse is handicapped accessible. New videos showing rooms on the upper floors have been produced with support from Visit Greater Lima. The farmhouse is air conditioned. Bathrooms are now available in the Swiss Heritage Center.
April 19 was a momentous day for the Swiss Historical Society of Bluffton and Pandora, Ohio.
We had our first Spring Meeting in our new Heritage Center that featured Fred Steiner previewing his book, “Our Swiss Story”. Eighty-eight people gathered to listen to Fred’s presentation. Thanks to Ray Rayburn, a video of the program is available on YouTube CLICK HERE. Eleven people/persons from around the country watched our event live from their homes.
We also enjoyed the company of those who attended, while sitting around the tables and enjoying pie baked by Joyce Schumacher, Marcia Lugibihl, Chrissy Lugibihl and Sue Habeggar. We even used vintage china while sipping hot beverages. It was a day to remember!
A silent pie auction of hickory and walnut pies made with Dr. Ollie Lugibihl’s famous recipe ended our time together. All proceeds went to furnishing the new Children’s Discovery Room in our center.
On October 23, 2025, WBGU-PBS premiered an episode of Scenic Stops & Stories featuring the Schumacher Homestead, 8350 Bixel Rd. The production took place during a Second Saturday event and includes interviews with board member Jason Althaus and docent Van Risser. The next event at the homestead will be the Christmas Open House on December 6-7.
Althaus provides an overview of the development of the historic site, including the new Heritage Center, which is a repurposed timber frame barn from a nearby farm. Risser demonstrates how the Schumacher family would have cooked using the fireplace in the summer kitchen. Using homegrown produce, he makes a one-pot stew or “Eintopf.”
The episode is titled “Amusement, Art and Family” and runs about 25 minutes. Additional subjects focus on northwest Ohio and include Sandusky’s Merry-Go-Round Museum, the Cedar Point Historical Museum, the Wood County Fair, Firefly Nights in Bowling Green and the Black Swamp Arts Festival.
The program is available to stream live at wbgu.org and WBGU’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/q2qrt8a9DC0/ The segment on the homestead begins at about the 20 minute mark.
Join The Swiss Community Historical Society for a sneak peek at the updated P.B. Amstutz book Historical Events of the Mennonite Settlement in Allen and Putnam Counties, Ohio, written in 1925.
Bluffton historian Fred Steiner will give an update on an expanded version, Our Swiss Story, to be published in late spring 2026. Steiner has been researching the non-Mennonite families of The Settlement known as the Swiss Reformed. Several families will be featured, plus more stories from the period.
The program will be on Sunday, April 19, at 2:00 p.m. at the Schumacher Homestead Historical Center at 8350 Bixel Road, Bluffton.
Homemade pies and hot beverages will be available. Two nut pies (hickory and walnut) made from Dr. Ollie Lugibihl’s famous recipe will be offered for silent auction to support the society.
The first photo (above) pictures an icebox dated back to around 1910. The icebox was the predecessor of the refrigerator. Featuring two compartments, the upper box was used for a large block of ice. Cool air from the ice circulated down to the second compartment to keep food cool.
The second photo shows an extraordinary working pump organ. Dated to around 1900, the organ is ornate and in beautiful condition. Organs such as this were most popular in homes and small churches from 1850-1930.
Next is our SCHS President, Gary Wetherwill holding a winnower. A winnower is a machine used to separate grain from chaff. A winnower cleans grain by shaking or tossing the mixture into the wind. The actual process is called winnowing. This winnower dates back to the 1880’s.
Lastly, we have a unique wooden dust pan with a broom. The dust pan is dated around 1880.
Update by Seth Bixel and Kaye Phillips on Facebook
SWISS COMMUNITY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 