Crenwelge / Braun Overview
German immigrant Theodore Crenwelge built the stone farmhouse for his bride, Katherine in 1895. Originally the farm consisted of about 156 acres. Corn (maize) and oats were the main crops. The stone barn and stone smokehouse/root cellar were built at the same time as the house.
In 1918, a distant cousin, Ottillie Braun, was killed in a train wreck, leaving her husband, Fredrick, and three children, Henry, Bernice and Burton. The oldest child, Henry, stayed with his father but the two younger children went to live with the Crenwelges. After Fredrick Braun remarried, Bernice went back to her birth father's house, and only young Burton Braun remained with the Crenwelges.
Both Crenwelges died in 1954, leaving the farm to their nephew Burton Braun. Around 1990, Burton sold the farmland but kept the house and the surrounding 5.8 acres. Due to ailing health, at the age of 86, Burton sold the land to local real estate developer Dallas Doughtry in 2001.