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"Die
Kernmuhle"
(The Kern Mill, Rostal Germany)
Written by Franklin L. Kern
A history of “Die Kernmuhle” (the Kern Mill in Rostal, Germany) was
gathered by James W. Kern. It
is an interesting progression of ownership of the mill owned by the
forefathers of the Kern relatives living in this area of Michigan.
The first evidence of a mill on the Pibert River surfaced in an official
record in 1464 in the city of Ansbach. At
that time Fritz Mulnerin was the owner and it was known as the “Gisuebelmuhle.”
The next listing appeared in the official record of Ansbach in
1532. The same Ansbach
records indicate that a George Weyler was the miller at “Die Kernmuhle”
and a Georg Kern was the owner. The name was changed to
"Die Kernmuhle" and this is the first time the name surfaces.
In 1594 the records
indicate that the mill was still in the hands of a Kern, namely, Hans
Kern. His name appears again in
1616 as the owner of “Die
Kernmuhle.”
During
the 30-Year War ( a religious war between Catholics and Protestants)
soldiers from as far away as Croatia in Yugoslavia (who were Catholics)
were pillaging this area. Records
indicate that in 1635 Hans Kern was shot to death by one of the cavalry
raiders, however, the rest of his family
survived the 30-year war which decimated the population of Rostal.
According to the records in Cadalzburg, Hans Kern had sworn allegiance to the military governor of this area and
this may have caused his untimely death.
His widow managed the mill until 1674
when she married Wolfgang Scherzer.
After the death of Wolfang in 1678 the mill was held by the government until
1681
when it was returned to Georg Kern, son of Hans. It was
unclear why it took so long to have “Die Kernmuhle” returned to the
Kern family. Even today the
lintel above the doorway to the mill reads 1676.
It is assumed that Scherzer (married to Hans Kern’s widow)
rebuilt the mill at that time.
In
1695 an entry in the Cadalzburg
records show that Georg Kern owned a newly-built mill with a barn and a
house and 17 1/2 acres of land, two acres of woods, and a fish pond fromed
by a dam on the Pibert.
This dam and water wheel also provided the power for the
grinding of grain. In early
1700 Johann Wilhelm Kern was the owner and in 1741 his son, Johann Kern
owned "Die Kernmuhle" as recorded on a tax
record. In 1748 Conrad Ebner purchased "Die Kernmuhle"
from the Kern family. It is assumed the Fritz Kern I, son of Johann
Kern, established a general store in Rostal at that time. Church records
in Rostal reveal that Fritz Kern I, Fritz Kern II and Fritz Kern III owned
this general store.
It is from this family that the
Frankenmuth, Richville, Reese and Millington Kern families have
descended. The wife of Fritz Kern III and all of her children came
to America.
Postscript of the Die Kernmuhle
In 1753 Christoph Eckert purchased “Die Kernmuhle” as recorded in
Ansbach Patrikular. In 1789
Johann Adam Exkert took ownership and during that year an addition was
added to the house. The year
1789 is still are engraved on the lintel above the kitchen door.
Around
the year 1800 the three mills of Neuses, Kernmuhle and Weinzierlein were
owned by families named Eckert, and it is believed they were brothers.
According to the registry of 1850, Johann Adam Eckert died in 1831.
His son, George F. Eckert, took over “Die Kernmuhle.”
As recorded in the (Heimatsbuch) in 1846 “Die Kernmuhle” also
served as a distillery.
In
1853 Adam Redtenbacher purchased the mill.
In 1906 his son sold the mill to Leonhardt Horneber from
Dietenhofen. At this time the
Hornebers purchased additional acreage to expand the original acreage of
“Die Kernmuhle.”
After
World War I (in 1919) Johann Horneber, son of Leonhardt, took over the
mill. Johann was the (Burgemeister)
mayor of the local community which included Rostal.
Johann Horneber’s wife was a maid at “Die Kernmuhle” for
three years before they were married. Johann was the grandfather of the present owner of “Die
Kernmuhle,” Heinz Horneber,
who provided much of the aforementioned information.
Heinz
and his wife, Johanna, have converted the original mill into apartments
and have installed a hydroelectric-generating plant on the Pilbert that
supplies electricity to the “Kernmuhle” complex and feeds excess power
into an electric grid. They
have converted the land surrounding the mill into a “Bioland Hof”.
No chemicals are used in growing the grain that feeds their chicken
and hog growing business. The
location still is called "Kernmuhle."
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