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Kiesling House spruced up, ready for programs next weekend

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Renovations on The Kiesling House in New Ulm are complete and the house will start its summer historic programing on Saturday, June 16.

NEW ULM — With the completion of construction, summer programing is expected to start again at the Kiesling House next Saturday.

The Historic Kiesling House underwent a face lift over the spring. The wood siding and windows of the 157 year old building were replaced with new wood material. The new wood exterior surface insures the Kiesling House will maintain its place on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Kiesling House was constructed in 1861. It survived the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War and is the only wood-framed house from that era remaining in Brown County. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Since the building’s historical importance is based on its wood-framing, the city chose to replace the siding with similar materials when renovation became necessary last year. Non-wood siding material was available at a lower cost, but the New Ulm City Council unanimously chose wood material to preserve the building’s history.

Before approving the repairs Councilor Les Schultz said using any other material would the like putting a plastic leg on Hermann the German.

The Kiesling House renovation help improve the appearance of the building, but the construction did delay the start of summer programing.

In 2015, Kathleen Backer, the director of the Brown County Historical Society Museum, started leasing the Kiesling for historic programing similar to the programming at the Harkin Store. Backer said the target date to begin programing was Memorial Day weekend, but the building was still under construction and it was decided to hold off on programing until the work was done. The work concluded last week and the now the cleanup and setup process has begun.

Backer said the Kiesling House should be ready for the first program of the year on Saturday, June 16.

In addition to the recent repairs and programming, Backer is excited that the city acquired the parcel of land between the Kiesling House and the Lamplighter. This doubles the land area available for Kiesling park

Backer said next year she hopes to use the new parcel for historic plantings.

“I envision it as a way to get the community involved,” she said. Many historical sites strive to landscape property to invoke the correct time period.

Historical preservation efforts have included era appropriate vegetation. Backer said over a hundred years ago it was common for gardens to grow food items. In the case of New Ulm, there is a unique resource for determining which plants were popular. In the aftermath of the 1862 Dakota-U.S. Conflict many New Ulm settlers filed depredation claims, which included vegetation destroyed. According to these claims rutabagas were a common plant of the era.

This year, Backer said visitors to the Kiesling House may expect to see fan favorite historical demonstration on yarn spinning, sauerkraut making, quilting, shoe making and a visit from the New Ulm Battery. Old-fashion butter making will likely be one of the first programs, since June is Dairy Month.

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