The sights and sounds of the rural countryside await you. Imagine a quaint old farmhouse on 60 acres of serene property as wildlife and colors of the season surround you.
Although these things seem a world away, they are actually only a phone call away. Located near Forestville State Park outside of Preston, Minn., the Schmidt Farm Guest House is the perfect getaway for those who may be disengaged from the country life or want to get disconnected from the city life.
Paul and Karen Schmidt have lived on the home farm where Paul grew up, which is more than a century farm for the Schmidt family, since 2001.
In 2017, they purchased an additional farm that adjoins the west side of their home farm. “The previous owners wanted us to purchase it,” explains Paul. “They had it for 30 years,” he says, and when the man’s health deteriorated, “they really wanted us to purchase it because they knew us and knew we would take care of it properly,” says Paul.
They started getting crafty, seeing what they could do with that property, notes Karen.
“We had a lot of ideas and it kind of all had to play out to see what that property really wanted to be – there’s a lot of things that we thought it could be, but we kind of just let it develop into what it really wanted to be – and I think we’re in the right direction,” Karen states.
They had once considered turning the house into a rustic cabin, “but it’s an old farmhouse and that’s what it wants to be,” explains Karen.
Once the decision had been made to keep the true spirit of the old farmhouse, there was a lot of work to be done both on the house and the property.
The property needed attention and particularly, the woods needed managing. Old fallen fences needed to be cleaned up and some of the trails had grown over. The woods had aged trees that needed to be logged out to let some young growth get more sunlight.
“That will be very beneficial to those woods,” says Paul. “There are some giant oaks we approximate as 110 years old – they will stay as seed oaks,” explains Paul.
“The trails are all in great repair now,” Paul says. They have been adding additional trees such as hazelnut and others on the property and Karen plans to get some willows near the pond.
Yes, there is a pond at Schmidt Guest House!
In fact, the outdoor possibilities are immense and range from sitting in a lounge chair by the huge fire pit to going “goat hiking” — yes, I said goat hiking! The goats love attention from people and they love to go hiking on the property and will follow (or lead) anyone who wants to go. The donkeys and llamas may tag along also.
The Schmidts own Icelandic sheep, llamas, horses, goats, donkeys, chickens, cats and dogs, and much of the time the sheep and llamas are down on the guest house property, which guests thoroughly enjoy.
“One thing I’m not sure that we were aware of when we started this was we really had to open up our farm, too, because most of the families that came, I think almost every one of them had three generations – young kids, younger parents and then grandparents – and they really wanted to know about us too. That was kind of part of the experience,” states Paul.
In the house, the Schmidts did a vast amount of work, doing most of the remodeling work themselves. They tore out all the ceilings, refinished the floors, and installed a lot of drywall, in addition to much more backbreaking work. They hired a professional to complete a total renovation on the existing bathroom and they added a half bath. Following a hail storm, the house now has a new steel roof, as well.
The Schmidt Guest House has four bathrooms, 1 1/2 baths, and can fit eight people comfortably. If more space is necessary guests are welcome to set up tents outside.
The guest house features all the modern amenities of a 1930s farm house. “The 1930s was the first modern farmhouse kitchen, so we kind of tried to structure around the 1930s,” explains Karen.
They tried to use and re-purpose things that were left in the house and Karen took a lot of effort to find items to fit the 1930s decor. She spent a fair amount of time checking the ReStore, Goodwill, auctions, garage sales and thrift shops.
At least one day a week Karen would make the rounds, trying to find things that would work for the house. The result of her scavenger hunts really paid off, as there are some very unique items, including several light fixtures that draw your attention when you walk into the kitchen.
A dresser that was Paul’s when he was growing up has now become the base for a bathroom sink and there are many other pieces of furniture throughout the house that Karen refinished.
The house had old-style windows, which open from the bottom up and historically, kids fall out of them – a big fear of Karen’s. That problem was ingeniously solved when Paul’s uncle Chris Schmidt, a retired carpenter, was able to switch the windows so they open from the top down instead of the bottom up. In Paul’s normal good humor he says, “If it had been a less interesting project he might not have helped,” but he got engaged in the project and what they were doing.
Karen found an old exterior door that was the right size to fit the space for the downstairs bathroom door which is located directly off the kitchen. The problem was, the door had a large window in it and people told Karen she couldn’t have a bathroom door with a window in it. But that was not her plan; she inset a mirror on the bathroom side of the door where the window had been, and on the kitchen side she made a chalkboard in the window space.
A grand old kitchen stove is an example of the first year stoves had a temperature control. The old stove is merely decorative though, and a modern stove is also in the kitchen for guests to use.
“There is a toaster oven and a Kuerig,” notes Paul, laughingly adding, “we’re not savages after all!” A guest once offered to purchase a microwave for the guest house and although she appreciated the gesture, Karen said, “It was really a stretch for me to put the toaster in here – it’s part of the experience,” she says.
The kitchen is stocked with the basics, including everything to make s’mores. Towels and linens are provided as well. Guests will find games, old kids books, books on the history of the area and as there are many fossils on the property, Paul has provided a fossil guide so guests can identify any fossils they may find.
The guest house property is adjacent to Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park and although there are no trails per say that lead into the park, you can walk the guest house property over and into the park.
“There is so much to that park that nobody sees because they only see the trail,” notes Karen. “It’s beautiful hiking on this whole end – it’s absolutely beautiful,” she says.
There is so much more to learn about the Schmidts and what they do on their farm as well as the wonderful opportunities at the guest house, including gathering your own eggs to cook, combine rides and an almost unending list of educational and unforgettable experiences.
The Schmidts grow a lot of garlic, which Karen says is “hand planted, hand harvested and hand cleaned from our hands to yours.” They grow 10,000 asparagus plants, all certified organic and used to supply farmers markets, as well as Bleu Duck Kitchen and Forager Brewery in Rochester, Minn., Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery in Spring Valley, Minn., and Riverside on the Root in Lanesboro, Minn.
The asparagus plants are actually the responsibility of their 21 year old son Vaughan, a student at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. The proceeds from the asparagus have paid for his college education. It takes dedication to work the 12-15 hour days he needs to put in each summer, but he takes pride in his crop.
Karen also produces a variety of fiber arts, makes soaps and does candlemaking and offers to help people develop these skills. Her products can be found online at SchmidtShopTreasures: ETSY.com.
The Schmidt Farm is located at 19499 Killdeer Rd, Preston. For more information call (507) 273-6278, visit myschmidtfarm.com or VRBO.com: Farm Stay Vacation.
Leave a Reply