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Jackie and Marvin Lawley recently retired and moved to Jackie’s family home in Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee. Her grandfather and great-grandfather came from Switzerland to the Colony of Gruetli in 1885 and built the house that has been occupied by her family all these years. She is president of the Grundy County Swiss Historical Society and curator of the Stoker-Stampfli Farm Museum, another farm in the colony.
A one-room log structure with an attached outhouse and a covered area nearby sit lopsided and decaying on an old Swiss farm on the Cumberland Plateau in Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee, west of Chattanooga. It is believed to be the first residence of the Anton Stoker family from Switzerland.
In the mid-1800s, the Stokers were among many Swiss who were looking for a better life and future. Switzerland was among several European countries suffering from famine, failed crops and overcrowding. The government of tiny Switzerland encouraged its citizens to find new places to live by assisting them with the purchase or sale of their properties.
In 1869, about 100 families each purchased 100-acre plots, or more if they could afford it, to set about farming or pursuing their trade in Tennessee. The land they purchased in what was to become the Colony of Gruetli was dense woodlands where they could cut a log or board well over 15 inches wide. Despite the abundance of such building materials, the soil was rocky and poor, so many families migrated to places like Nashville, Belvidere, Winchester, McMinnville or Chattanooga where conditions were less harsh. The Stokers, however, remained in Gruetli and built a bigger home that is still standing after almost 140 years. It was large for its time and served not only as a residence but also as a community meeting place.
In the year 2000, 33 acres of the original property were donated by Rose Stampfli to the Grundy County Swiss Historical Society. Rose was a descendant of another Swiss family who came to America later and bought the Stoker farm. Rose and her family were very involved in the Society and many old timers had plans for a museum.
The Society’s dream is to have all the buildings restored as closely as possible to their original state. While some progress has been made with restoration and preservation of other structures on the farm, it will take more time, money and manpower to bring the little log home back to life. Although it is a small part of this farm, it plays a significant role in the story of the Swiss in the South. They did not start with a big house and acres of cleared land.
I believe it is essential to share the farm and museum with the community now and with future generations so they can understand the origins, lives, struggles and dreams of their great-great grandparents.
