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Hermann Missouri Historic District Walking Tour
Item 7 of 7

This living history museum along the Missouri River was founded in 1971 by Jim and Mary Dierberg after they visited Hermann during Maifest, a German tradition that celebrates the coming of Spring. The couple came from St. Louis, Missouri but also had a home in Santa Barbara, California where they owned a winery and three vineyards. Jim Dierberg was the founder and chairman of First Banks and decided to buy the bank in Hermann the week after their initial visit. In 1974, the couple purchased a winery in Hermann with cellars that dated back to 1847. After the cellars were excavated due to being filled in during Prohibition, the Dierbergs opened Hermannhof Winery. Over the next four decades, they continued to buy historic buildings and preserve them so they could be turned into restaurants and lodgings. The Dierbergs are largely credited for the revitalization of Hermann which allowed it to become the tourist destination it is today. They contributed to the preservation of Hermann’s history by setting up a non-profit organization called the Dierberg Education Foundation.


Teubner-Husmann Household

Building, Window, Plant, Black

Visitor's Center

Visitor's Center

Trading Post

Sky, Building, Tree, Wood

Tradesmen Barn

Sky, Plant, Cloud, Building

Charles Teubner

Forehead, Chin, Eyebrow, Jaw

George Husmann

Outerwear, Beard, Jaw, Coat

Hermann, Missouri was founded by George Frederick Bayer in 1837 after the land was chosen by The German Settlement Society of Philadelphia. The population grew rapidly and by 1842, an election was held in which it was decided to move the county seat of Gasconade County from Mt. Sterling to Hermann. One of the major industries of the town was vineyards and winemaking, a craft and tradition that is represented in the Hermann Farm Museum.

The museum complex is made up of several historic buildings that were preserved and moved to this site in order to provide a space that was engaging and reflective of Hermann’s cultural history. Throughout the 1830s and 40s, German immigrants settled in Hermann and began farming and raising livestock. This early stage of the community's history is represented through the museum’s “First Settlement Village,” a group of historic buildings built by early settlers. One of these buildings includes what is now known as The Mercantile, which was built in 1840 by F. Seudemeyer as a family home that now serves as a gift shop and place to speak with docents. The complex also includes a home constructed in the early 1850s by day George Fries while he worked as a day laborer. This building was updated to resemble a German Schützenhalle, which was a place where people gathered to eat and drink after enjoying the sport of Scharfschießen. This sharp-shooting-based sport was popular in Germany beginning in the 14th century when the first festival was held, celebrating the skills used by hunters and the capacity of citizens to defend their community. German immigrants maintained the tradition and in the first ten years of German settlement in Hermann, a volunteer militia was formed by immigrant sharp-shooters, which was called Hermann Jaeger Verein (later: Hermann Jaeger Battalion).

The village's Trading Post was also a home built in the early 1850s. Francis Boeing built the structure and used it both as a home and post office while he served as Hermann’s postmaster. The western half of the building is made up of the original house while the eastern half is made up of a 1790s log structure that was transported from Wardsville, Missouri. This log structure is meant to represent the French immigrants that settled in Hermann before the Germans arrived. This half of the building serves as the trading post and consists of many items the French would have traded with people such as the Native Americans and those migrating west. The final building in the village is the Tradesmen barn, a wooden building in which those practicing various trades would have offered goods and services. These trades could include Blacksmiths, bakers, cobblers, and of course winemakers.

The focal point of the Hermann Farm Museum is the Teubner-Husmann Household, a Greek Revival house built in 1847 by Charles Teubner. Charles was born on March 8th, 1808 in Stolberg, Germany and was a shoemaker while he lived in Germany. On April 23rd, 1838, he left Europe on a ship traveling from France to St. Louis, Missouri. After a stint in Alabama, he returned to Missouri in 1846 and settled in Hermann. In February of that year, he bought 200 acres along the Missouri River to be used as a plant nursery and wine vineyard. The following year, he began construction on the Teubner-Husmann House. He met his wife Josephine Husmann while hunting on her family’s property, which neighbored his own, and they were married in 1847.

Josephine Teubner was born on May 5th, 1822 in Meyenberg, Germany. She came to the U.S. in 1836 with her family and they first settled in Philadelphia. After her father, Martin Husmann, bought shares in the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia, the family moved to Hermann in 1838. Josephine lived there with Martin and her brother George until she was married. Martin died after an accident at the town’s mill (now known as Tin Mill Restaurant) and George moved in with her and Charles. George had previously learned about the idea of wine as a natural healing aid from his other sister’s husband, who was a homeopathic doctor in Pennsylvania. He was likely first exposed to viticulture (grape cultivation) when his brother-in-law and uncle planted Pennsylvania’s first commercial vineyard in Allentown. When George moved in with Josephine and Charles, he became Charles’ apprentice and became a winemaker. George earned a reputation as the father of Missouri wine. He was one of the founders of the Napa wine industry and helped save European vineyards from phylloxera (a pest that attacks commercial vineyards).

On September 10th, 1851, Charles Teubner died while his son Charles was three years old and Josephine was pregnant with their second son, Frederick. Just three years later, a ship arrived in Hermann from St. Louis carrying passengers who were ill with Cholera. After becoming infected from caring for those passengers, Josephine died on May 19th, 1854. Although George had been in California for a year looking for gold, he returned to Hermann to take over the business and raise his nephews.

Hermann, Missouri, Gasconade County Historical Society. Accessed September 13th, 2022. https://www.gasconadecountyhistoricalsociety.com/hermann-missouri.

Uhlenbrock, Tom. Hermann Farm and Museum open for tours, The Intelligencer. June 22nd, 2016. Accessed September 13th, 2022. https://www.theintelligencer.com/local/article/Hermann-Farm-and-Museum-open-for-tours-10445861.php.

The Teubner-Husmann Household, Hermann Farm. Accessed September 13th, 2022. https://hermannfarm.org/teubnerhusmann-household.

Visitor's Center & First Settlement Village, Hermann Farm. Accessed September 13th, 2022. https://hermannfarm.org/visitors-center.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Hermann Farm Museum