It is a rescue that will benefit us all, and generations to come.

The last time we visited the Conrad Wyneken House in rural Adams County, the historic home sat in ruin, awaiting whatever fate had in store.

This week, fate made its move.

What looks like demolition is actually preparation, getting this pre-civil war structure stabilized so it can be lifted off the old foundation and moved to a temporary site about a mile away.

There it will wait to be moved to a permanant site, when one is found, where it will be restored to the original appearance.

This building is worth the effort.

This was the home of Reverend Friedrich Wyneken, who as a young Lutheran Minister immigrated from Germany to Adams County in the 1840's...when Indiana was America's western frontier.

Working out of this home, Wyneken traveled a circuit from Michigan to Indianapolis, preaching to frontier families and founding dozens of Lutheran churches along the way.

Wyneken founded Fort Wayne's Concordia Theological Seminary, and he's one of the founders of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

This house for a time was the home of the Missourri Synod.

It is one of the most historically significant buildings in Northeast Indiana, perhaps in the entire state.

Julie O'Beirne, with the Adams County Heritage Commission says, "The primary goal for use will be education."

Julie O'Beirne is with the Adams County Heritage Commission organizing the rescue.

She says the restored home will be used to teach county history, state history, and religious history...how Christianity was brought to the western frontier.

O'Beirne says, "We've already had people contact us from the parochial Lutheran schools in Indianapolis who want to come here for a field trip now. We see potential to what Souder Village has done for education purposes, similar to what Swiss Heritage Village has done for education purposes."

There is much to be done before that dream is realized.

A permanent site has to be found and money raised for restoration.

But the first and perhaps biggest challange has been met...saving this valuable history lesson from destruction...keeping faith with our own past. (Edited by Nicole Hahn.)

A faith's foundation?

Preservationists want to save a home once occupied by an early Lutheran leader.

By Kevin Kilbane

of The News-Sentinel

Wyneken timeline

Preserving Adams County's German heritage

A group called Friends of Wyneken, associated with the Indiana German Heritage Society, has been formed with the support of the Adams County Heritage Commission and the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

Friends of Wyneken will meet this Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Adams County Museum at Decatur for a presentation by Dr. James J. Divita, a past president of the Indiana Religious Heritage Association.

An announcement of the gathering says Divita will speak about the importance of preserving Indiana's religious heritage, "an effort that should unite people of faith."

Important sites and structures associated with Indiana's religious past are disappearing at an alarming rate and this issue needs to be addressed at state and local levels, the group said in a statment.

"Divita has publicly expressed that he considers the Wyneken House, located in Adams County, to be one of the most important endangered structures associated with Indiana's religious history," the statement noted.

He is a historian who received a bachelor's degree in 1959 from DePaul University in Chicago and a master's degree in 1960 and his doctoral degree in 1972, both from the University of Chicago.

He is also a writer of books and articles published by the Indiana Historical Society and the Sacred Heart Pastoral Council in Indianapolis.

Saving the Wyneken House 
Groups Look To Save, Move Lutheran Missionary's Former Adams County Home Before It Is Demolished; Organizers Ask For Community's Help 
By JUSTIN PEEPER 

When you drive past the wooden structure, it appears to be just another old, abandoned country farm house. Windows have been busted, and some of the wood siding is falling off. The paint that once covered the two-story house is long gone, and weeds are growing around the perimeter. 

On the inside, vandals have removed countless floor boards, making it impossible to enter from one of the doors without falling into the basement. Countless critters, including a hissing vulture in the attic, have moved in. 

This structure, however, once housed the man who encouraged thousands of Germans to move to Adams County, who co-founded Fort Wayne's Concordia Theological Seminary and who was one of the founding fathers of the Missouri Synod: Friedrich Conrad Dietrich Wyneken. 

The abandoned Adams County house in which Wyneken lived from 1859-1862 is on the verge of being razed this fall, but three groups of determined preservation enthusiasts have joined forces to save the house, give it a makeover and relocate it for posterity as a landmark. And, they're asking for help, officials announced at a press conference Thursday at the Wyneken House. 

The push to save the Wyneken House, which the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana listed as an endangered site on its Web site in November 2003, is so strong because of the lasting impact the Lutheran minister left on Adams County and this area. 

"Getting this icon of the German heritage of the area preserved (and) understood would be a significant step to understanding the German heritage, and also the general history, of the area," said Giles Hoyt, director of the Max Kade German-American Center and a professor of German at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. 

Adams County's almost 60 percent of German decedents are quite familiar with Wyneken, who traveled Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and beyond founding Lutheran churches and preaching to converts. 

"Wyneken was extremely important because he was the central figure for drawing people into the area," Hoyt said. 

Adams County had the third highest early settlement German immigration rate in Indiana. 

Wyneken is credited with establishing several churches in Adams and Allen counties, including the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church at Friedheim, and the St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne. 

"He was a preacher, but he was much more than a preacher," said Julie O'Beirne, Adams County historian. "He was an educator and he was very driven to make sure that the people in this part of the world had the same educational opportunities as anybody." 

When he came to the area in the 1840s, Indiana was the country's western frontier. 

"Pastor Wyneken came in and really established culture in the wild, wild west," O'Beirne said. "At the time, it was a very rough place to live, but he was passionate about people and he was a humanitarian."

The house in which he lived for about three years before moving to Fort Wayne in 1862 is one mile east of the Wells-Adams county line on Adams County Road 1000N. It rests on the north side of the road. The Adams County Heritage Commission, Indiana German Heritage Society and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana hope to restore the house and relocate it by this winter, if they can obtain enough money, supplies and volunteers. 

"We are really interested in trying to save it, but we also hope it's a stepping stone to create awareness about German heritage," said Heiko Muehr, chairman of the Indiana German Heritage Society's preservation committee. 

Officials hope saving the Wyneken House will promote a strong sense of community since the area has so many German descendants. 

"It is a very high priority for us to bring in a sense of community," O'Beirne said. 

Hoyt, who has studied German heritage for many years, said saving the house would be an important step in recognizing the contributions Wyneken and the people of German descent made. 

"We should understand where he came from and why he did it because it explains a lot about who we are and why we're here and why this county is as beautiful as it is," Hoyt said. 

The Wyneken house appears to be in rough shape since it has been vacant for more than 50 years, but a 1994 study by Craig Leonard, a historic preservation consultant and Wells County's historian, showed it is structurally sound. 

"It displays no signs of differential settlement or deformation, nor of deterioration caused by the prolonged presence of concentrated damp," Leonard wrote. 

However, officials at the press conference said the rate of deterioration increases dramatically once a house is abandoned. 

"This has become more urgent," Muehr said. 

The owner of the ground on which the house rests has other plans for the land and plans to demolish it this fall. Officials said he has been supportive and patient, but they hope to make their move soon before the house is leveled. 

"This is really a call to arms," O'Beirne said. 

The owner of the Wyneken House is on the Adams County Heritage Commission board and wants to see the structure preserved. It could cost around $200,000 to move the house and restore it to the way it looked when Wyneken lived there, but the whole ell-shaped structure likely would not be moved. An addition on the west side built after Wyneken moved out would probably be removed, officials said. The first step, however, is to clean up the outside, and the groups are looking for people to donate materials, time or money. 

"We need to preserve the house to prevent any further deterioration," Muehr said. 

The next step would be to prepare the structure to be moved, O'Beirne said. The groups have potential sites in mind to relocate the Wyneken House, but nothing has been finalized yet, officials said. 

"We would like to have it on a well-traveled road where people who are interested can visit," O'Beirne said. "We want to tell the story of the settlement of this region and his impact on culture, education and spiritual leadership." 

After it is moved and money is available, crews would restore it to the way it looked when Wyneken lived there. Grant money might be available, but the community in which the project resides must come up with base funding, O'Beirne said. 

Officials tried to save the Wyneken House 10 years ago and move it the Concordia Theological Seminary, but not enough money was raised. The cost to clear the original site and relocate to the Concordia campus in 1994 was estimated at approximately $73,000, according to Leonard's study. 

In 2000, the Adams County Heritage Commission was formed, and saving the structure has been a priority since then. Angela Rumschlag, vice president of the commission, lives in a historic property close to the Wyneken House and has discussed saving the structure at almost every committee meeting, O'Beirne said. 

"If it hadn't been for Angela bringing this up at every meeting, it may have gone by the wayside," she said. 

The Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana has been involved in saving the house for the last 10 years and posted it on the Web site last year. Officials from the Indiana German Heritage Society saw it on the Net and joined forces with the other groups, O'Beirne said. 

"Now with this partnership, we feel there is a vehicle for the people who are passionate about German heritage." 

A special meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22, at the Adams County Historical Museum for anyone who wants to join the Friends of Wyneken, a group forming to honor and use German landmarks and to save the Wyneken House. The museum is located at 420 W. Monroe St. in Decatur. 

To make a donation to the project, contact the Indiana German Heritage Society at (812) 855-1108 or via e-mail at hmuehr@indiana.edu Any money donated to the non-profit group is tax deductible, officials said.