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66251 Cedar Road
<br />• Historical Notes:
<br />Settlement in Madison Township did not begin until the 1840's, making it one
<br />of the latest settled areas in St. Joseph County. At that time, it was largely
<br />marshlands and was covered with heavy timber. Numberous sawmills were set up
<br />to clear the land.
<br />The first recorded owner of this 160 acre property on Cedar Road was Joseph C.
<br />Gier. It was granted to him in 1847 by the United States Government through
<br />an Act of Congress "to raise for a limited time, an additional military force
<br />and for other purposes." The grant was deposited in the general land office,
<br />warrent No. 26,441, and was signed in 1851 by President Millard Filmore.
<br />Joseph Gier died, however, in 1852, and ownership of the property went to
<br />his widow, Christina, and their only son, George Gier. Christina married
<br />George Bickle, of Elkhart County, the following year, and he built this log
<br />house the same year, 1853. It is 1 1/2 stories high, built of yellow poplar
<br />and oak timbers hewn to 8" x 12" and notched to lock at the corners. Wooden
<br />wedges were driven into the cracks and plastered with clay on the outside.
<br />Inside, the walls were left rough and whitewashed.
<br />In 1864, George Gier died and, in September of that year, his share in the
<br />property was sold by the guardian of his estate to George Bickle. In October
<br />of 1864, George and Christina Bickle sold the property to James Finney of Elk-
<br />hart County for $15,00. He sold it on December 30, 1880 to John W. Albert and
<br />Charles F. Geyer for $2,800. John Albert sold his share to Geyer in 1882.
<br />Charles F. Geyer was born in LaPorte County on October 15, 1857. His father,
<br />Jacob, was born in Stolsbury-on-the-Rhine, Germany. At the age of 18, Jacob
<br />sailed to the United States, landing in New York, and made his way to Toledo,
<br />Ohio, then to St. Joseph County. His first job here was working on the Lake
<br />Shore Railroad. He moved to LaPorte County to begin farming and he married
<br />Regina Nusselman, a native of Alsace, France. They had 13 children, includ-
<br />ing Charles. The family moved to German Township in St. Joseph County, and
<br />then to Marshall County where Jacob Geyer remained until his death in 1904
<br />at the age of 76.
<br />When Charles Geyer purchased this farm in 1880, he named it the Park Farm.
<br />Only twenty-three years old, he soon became a prominent farmer and sawmill
<br />operator in Madison Township. He lived in the log house, and in 1886, he
<br />married Ida Strope, daughter of A. J. and Catherine Strope, early settlers
<br />in the community. Charles and Ida lived in the log house until 1895, when
<br />they built the present two-story, vernacular style farm house. Charles
<br />Geyer was an extensive traveler, having visited the World's Fairs in Chicago,
<br />Buffalo, New York, and St. Louis. His refined taste in architecture gained
<br />through this travel was reflected in the buildings he constructed on the
<br />Park Farm. The house had finely carved decorative woodwork on both the in-
<br />terior and exterior, and the large barn, built on massive stone foundations,
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