William Gernhardt, Woodburn, Indiana

Description:	William Gernhardt portrait, Woodburn, Indiana. William Gernhardt, born in 1865, immigrated to the United States from Bebra, Germany. Arriving in Fulton County, Ohio, July 4, 1881, he married Zmary Rupp, born in 1868, of Wauseon, Ohio. He was one of the earliest settlers of Woodburn, locating in November 1894, with his wife Mary and three children, Ella, Lucinda, and Jesse. Eldon, Barbara, and William were born in Allen County. He bought 80 acres of land lying south of what is now Main Street in Woodburn. The first place of residence was in a frame house that was located near the Wabash Railroad on the ground now owned by the Woodburn Equity Exchange on the west side of Union Street, now Bull Rapids Road. The original plat of Woodburn was filed in 1865. Otto Knoblauch owned the property from the railroad south to Main Street, which included both sides of Union Street. On April 13, 1894, Mr. Knoblauch divided this property into 23 lots; then in May 1895, Mr. Gernhardt filed a corrected town plat and completed the block to a new east-west street, Stenger Street. This plat gave the town a new name, Shirley City, and added 23 lots. There being no churches in Woodburn at this time, Mr. Gernhardt was instrumental in helping to form the Evangelical Mennonite Church and donated the one acre of land where the present Mennonite Church is located on Becker Road, once named Gernhardt Road. It was estimated that the building cost approximately $1,000. After a number of years living a pioneer life among the trees, stumps, and mud, all the Fulton County settlers except William Gernhardt sold out and returned to their native community just when the land value was rising. Mr. Gernhardt owned a hardware store and for twenty years, from 1898 to 1918, he was a justice of the peace. He helped promote the formation of the Woodburn High School. His son Eldon was in the first graduating class. His wife Mary died in 1936. He followed her in death in 1942. Both are buried in the Mennonite Cemetery on U.S. 24 near Woodburn.
Contributor(s):	Woodburn Historical Society
Source:	http://cdm15155.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/coll5/id/57
Collection:	Woodburn Historical Society
Copyright:	The images in the Allen County Public Library's digital library may be viewed, downloaded, and printed for personal or educational use, but any commercial use is prohibited without permission. Some collections may have other rights retained. Questions may be directed to the Special Collections Division of the Library at Genealogy@ACPL.Info or (260) 421-1225.
Geography:	Woodburn, Allen County, Indiana
Subjects:	Woodburn (Ind.)--History--Miscellanea.

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