Sauder Village recreates best parts of pioneer life
By Jim Morris
Dayton Daily News
ARCHBOLD, Ohio | One man's vision and many people's dreams can be found at Sauder Village.
It's one of those steps back in time you take while touring historic areas. Sauder Village is a restored 37-building village on the flat lands of northwest Ohio in an area once known as the Great Black Swamp.
It tells the story — through the carefully restored buildings with live interpreters — of how the settlers of the 1800s fought starvation and the elements to carve a life, by hand, out of sticky mud and create some of the most fertile farmland in the state.
Sauder Village is the dream of Erie Sauder, founder of Sauder Woodworking, the nation's largest manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture. After his career in the furniture industry, in his 60s, he set out to help not only to preserve the history of the region, but to recreate it by building a living history museum. He scoured the area for old buildings, finding cabins from original settlers that had either been covered by other building materials or were in dilapidated condition. Buildings that could not be salvaged were recreated in as close to exact detail as possible, often from old plans or memories of people who either once lived or worked in the buildings.
The idea was to make the non-profit Sauder Village as authentic as possible, including interpreters dressed in clothing styles of the 1800s.
Sauder also wanted it to be a "working village," one with woodworkers, glass blowers, potters, tinsmiths, weavers, quilters, coopers and other craftsmen producing the goods as those settlers might have done in the 19th century.
Today, visitors can stroll through the well-kept village at their own pace, visit the shops, enjoy some cool treats from the old ice cream parlor and buy the handmade crafts and goods. There is also a gift shop in which to purchase those and other historically themed items.
Although Sauder Village is near several towns, it is a self-contained resort, including a modern, extremely well-appointed inn (35 rooms from $108 per night) a full-service restaurant (seating for 400), a 37-site campground (rates from $19), a bakery and meeting rooms. There is no golf course, but there are nearby courses. An on-site Sauder Woodworking furniture outlet store is scheduled to open this summer.
The Sauder Heritage Inn deserves special comment. The spacious rooms are some of the most comfortable, well-appointed you will find anywhere. While there is a somewhat rustic ambiance to the place, it is modern in every respect. There is a continental breakfast, but it's just a short walk across the parking lot to The Barn restaurant and the Doughbox bakery.
Sauder Village is also the home to several workshops, festivals and special events throughout the summer. A schedule can be found on the Web site: www.saudervillage.com.
Contact Jim Morris at 225-2409.
HOW TO GO
- What: Sauder Village
- Where: Near Archbold, Ohio. From Dayton, take Interstate 75 north to U.S. 6; west to Ohio 66; north to Sauder Village at Ohio 2. The drive takes about 3 hours.
- Hours: Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays, except for holidays.
- Admission: $11.50 for adults; $5.50 for students (ages 6-16).
- Information: (800) 590-9755 or www.saudervillage.org
