Bartel House set in stone for second time
Staff writer
As the stone was fastened and lifted by a skid steer loader, 18 pairs of eyes fixated that way.
When the stone was set, a collective breath was let out, and 40 years of wishing came true for the Bartel family.
H.F. Bartel House, considered one of the earliest stone structures in Marion County, was born for a second time Tuesday afternoon at Memorial Park in Hillsboro.
“It’s been a thrill after everybody’s been dreaming of it for 40 years,” Ruth Kopp said.
For Bartel’s descendents, seeing the stone set felt like a long time coming.
“This is amazing,” Sandra Wall Garrard said. “Ruth Kopp has been working on this for so long. … It’s just very exciting. I’ve been waiting a long time for this to happen.”
Kopp was inspired to pursue the project after getting to know Esther Rupp, who had the original idea of getting the house rebuilt, and speaking with her cousin, Richard Wall, at a family gathering at Tabor College.
“They were still talking about it,” Kopp said. “I think the Lord led me to an inkling. I had some funds and I was trying to figure out what was happening and kept saying, ‘You know, this needs a boost.’”
That boost didn’t happen until 2023, when Kopp started putting it into action. The project has received more than $200,000 in private donations since then.
Kopp has been the project’s driving force, Hillsboro administrator Danielle Bartel said.
The hardest part of the project was finding an architect willing to do it. When Thomas Gladbach was approached by Kopp, money wasn’t the biggest motivator.
“I just decided that I wasn’t too worried about getting paid much,” Gladbach said. “My main motivator was to get it accomplished for the family because they’ve been wanting it for so long.”
Gladbach, who owns Studio Gladbach LLC in Manhattan, said he’s worked with just pictures and basic diagrams of the home to devise a plan for the last two or three years.
Carl Kop, owner of Professional Stone Masonry in Strong City, is carrying out the labor. He said it is expected to take four months to put up the walls.
Tuesday’s significance reaches far beyond the Bartel family. It’s a piece of local history.
H.F. Bartel emigrated from Poland in 1876, escaping political and economic hardship. He settled on a plot of land 1½ miles north of Hillsboro.
When he arrived, Bartel reportedly lived in a structure dug out in the side of a hill.
As Bartel’s family grew, so too did the need for a better home.
The original limestone building was built in 1879 and was occupied until 1959. It is “one of the last remaining Mennonite Polish and Eastern European-style houses still in existence in the United States,” according to Hillsboro’s website.
Eventually the walls came down. Original limestone bricks sat in a lot for 15 years.
But because of resilience of people like Kopp, the limestone home will continue Bartel’s legacy. Once the 18-by-30-foot walls are in place, interior decorating and furnishing will transform it into a Hillsboro museum exhibit.
Kopp is hopeful for a dedication next summer.