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This Victorian house was built for Bernhard and Wilhelmina Warkentin in
1886-87. Bernhard was born in 1847 in the Mennonite village of Altonau,
Ukraine. His father was a prominent miller. In 1872 he came to the U.S.
to find new land. His letters home made him a leader of the Mennonite
migration from Russia; about 5000 Mennonites came to Kansas. In 1875 he
married Wilhelmina Eisenmayer, from a German Methodist family in
Illinois. Her father was also a miller. In Kansas, Warkentin operated
several mills and promoted wheat growing, especially "Turkey Red" hard
winter wheat. His work helped make Kansas the "Bread Basket of the
World." He died by accidental gunshot on a trip in the Holy Land in
1908. Wilhelmina lived here until her death in 1932. The house is on the
National Register of Historic Places.
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