The legacy of Marcella Schumacher is preserved through the Schumacher Farm Park, a living history museum she donated to Dane County in 1978.
Born in 1910, Marcella was a highly educated history and Spanish teacher who sought to protect her family’s 1892 homestead from modern suburban development. Today, the site functions as an educational conservancy, allowing visitors to experience a working farm as it existed during the transition from horse-power to mechanization in the 1920s and 1930s.
The park hosts an annual Heritage Festival featuring traditional activities like threshing demonstrations, antique hand tools, and the cultivation of historical crops like tobacco. Friends and former students remember Marcella as a talented musician and traveler whose deep love for nature and local history fueled her desire to share her parents’ farm with future generations. This vibrant community space maintains restored prairies and heritage gardens, ensuring the sociability and traditions of early 20th-century rural life remain accessible to the public.
Visit the Schumacher Farm Park Website to learn about activities at the farm, browse photos and watch more videos. Read more about Marcella and the farm in the table top book or at Amazon or the kids version in the coloring book.