Ozaukee County News Articles
The Voland Farm In Mequon In One Family 105 Years
Extracted from the
The Ozaukee Press
about 1948
Mequon--It's hard to realize, as one looks at the Voland century farm at the intersection of highway 9 and Wauwatosa road in the town of Mequon, that this prosperous little farm with its neat gardens, big white house and well kept out-buildings was just a piece of swamp land worth only $80 a hundred years ago.
But that's the truth. The history of the Voland farm has been filled with interesting sidelights from its very start, on January 27, 1843. That year Henry Haendel (he later shortened the name to Hendel) took the 20 acres of land that still make up the farm from Andrew Geidel in lieu of the $80 in wages Andrew owed him for a year's farm work. Since that day 105 years ago the farm has been in Henry's family, although contrary to custom, it was passedon to a daughter rather than a son, and so the name changed from the Hendel to the Voland farm. It is also interesting to note that the present Voland family, that of Emory, is the first to make its entire living from the 20 acres of land.
Henry Hendel had come from Germany in 1838, but little is known of him until 1843, when he worked on the Geidel farm. When he received his own land he married Eleamore Bear and they built a cabin there. It was hard to make a living on the 20 acres of swamp, so Eleanore took in sewing. Her speciality was making shrouds for funerals.
In 1861 Henry completed the first section of a permanent house, which is still used as a part of the Voland home, and enlisted in the Union army to fight the civil war. He left behind his wife and seven children; William, Henry (who is still living), Anton, Pauline (Krause), Emma (Knowle), Maria (Voland) and Charles. Charles was the only one born in the present home. Henry returned safely from the war and died at home in 1888. His wife died in 1882.
All the boys in the family learned the wagon building trade and moved to Red Wing, Minn. where they set up a factory (which is still in operation making automobile parts), so the family farm went to daughter Maria, who had married Robert Voland in 1871.
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