Goll Homestead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Goll Homestead
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Side of the farmhouse
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | 26093 Township Road F, German Township, Fulton County |
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| Nearest city | Archbold, Ohio |
| Area | 2.3 acres (0.93 ha) |
| Built | 1862 |
| Architectural style | Four over four |
| NRHP reference No. | 05001185 |
| Added to NRHP | October 26, 2005 |
The Goll Homestead is an old farm in Ohio, United States. It's a special place because it shows how the area was settled long ago. This historic farm is located in German Township, which is in Fulton County. It sits northwest of the town of Archbold.
The Historic Farmhouse
Long ago, Fulton County was covered in thick forests. Most early settlers cleared their land for farming. But Peter Goll, Sr. and his wife Catherine kept many of the original trees on their property.
The Goll family came to the United States from France in 1836. Their first home in Fulton County was a log cabin. It was about three miles east of where the farm is now.
As Peter Goll, Jr. grew up, he got married and started his own farm. In 1862, he built a new house. He used a special building style that came from early French and German settlers. This style used very large timbers.
The day before their child was born, Peter, Jr. and his wife moved into their new white wooden house. Soon after, his parents also moved in. The house was built with two separate parts, each with its own front door. This allowed both families to live there comfortably.
The Sturdy Barn
Three years after the house was finished, the Goll family built a barn. This barn was for their animals, like horses and dairy cows. It might have also held pigs.
Like the house, the barn was built using special methods. Its frame was made from huge oak beams. These beams were cut from trees right on the farm. The builders used a strong method called "mortise and tenon" to join the timbers.
Over the years, the barn was changed several times. One big change was raising the entire building by one story. This made it easier to keep the livestock inside.
Becoming a Public Park
The Goll family owned the house and other buildings for 100 years. In the 1960s, a family member named Florence Louys decided to sell the farm and its woods. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) bought it. They turned the land into a park called the Goll Woods State Nature Preserve.
After the state took over, the house and barn were used for park purposes. The barn became a storage area. Park rangers lived in the house.
By the 1990s, the ODNR decided not to use the house for living anymore. In the early 2000s, they planned to tear down both buildings. But some local people did not want this to happen. They worked with the ODNR and the Ohio General Assembly. They were able to get money from the state to fix up the property. Soon, work began to restore both the barn and the house.
In 2005, the Goll Homestead was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of important historic places in the United States. The homestead was added because of its role in local history. It was also recognized for its well-preserved old architecture. The buildings showed how people built things during the early settlement of the county. They used special European building styles with large timbers.
Since then, restoration work has continued. Volunteers from a group called "Friends of Goll Homestead" have repaired the buildings. They want them to look like they did when Peter Goll, Jr. lived there. Teams from Eastern Michigan University have also helped. They are removing changes made to the house. They hope to use it as a base for studying the surrounding woodlands.
