Rooted in the Salt Creek Valley
The story of this land reaches back to the late 1800s, when John Maurice Hund, great-grandfather of Joe and Jay Schwinn, purchased the property from Joel Hiatt, the original owner who secured the land after signing a treaty with the Delaware Indians. Here in the Salt Creek Valley, generations of family life, farming and tradition took root.
Generations on the Farm
The farm passed from John Maurice Hund to his son, John Aaron Hund. John Aaron and his wife, Anna, raised six children here while tending a large garden, crops, chickens, hogs and dairy cattle through the years of the Great Depression. After John Aaron's passing in 1973, Pat's brother Norman continued caring for the farm. Following Norman's death in 1997, the property was purchased by Joe and Helen Schwinn.
A Place Steeped in History
The Homestead is surrounded by the history of the Salt Creek Valley. To the west, along the Santa Fe Trail, are the remains of Buffalo Bill Cody’s boyhood home. To the south stands the historic Hund School—a one-room schoolhouse attended by Pat Schwinn and her siblings and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Life on the Homestead
In its heyday, the homestead was filled with the rhythms of farm and family life. Fruit orchards, Anna Hund’s beautiful peonies and irises, an old-fashioned wash house, milk house and full barnyard were all part of the property. The two-story farmhouse became a gathering place where generations came together for celebrations, reunions and family gatherings.
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Generations Connected
The roots planted here extend far beyond one generation. Many Leavenworth County families can trace part of their story to this special place, including the Hund, Schwinn, Todd, Heim, Theis and Stewart families. Through the generations, those family connections have remained an important part of the Homestead’s story.
Family, Farming & Faith
Today, the Schwinn family continues caring for and restoring this historic property while carrying forward the traditions that have shaped it for generations. The Homestead remains a place rooted in family, farming and faith—a living part of the Salt Creek Valley story.
Then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; ‘Repairer of the breach,’ they shall call you, ‘Restorer of ruined homesteads.’”
Isaiah 58:11–12 — New American Bible (NAB)
Where the Story Continues
More than a century after the first generations put down roots here, Schwinn Produce Farm continues to be a place where the land brings people together. Today, that legacy lives on through the family farm, The Barn and the generations who continue to care for this special piece of the Salt Creek Valley.
