Anton Ewers purchased land outside of Vienna which was described as lying southwest of the Vienna-St. Thomas Road in various sections, township, and range. He bought the land on April 28, 1904. 

Anton and his new bride, Gertrude (Volmert) Ewers, were both first generation American citizens. The land was worked with horses or mules. Ten children were born in a log house on the farm; Albert Ewers, Christine (Ewers) Renkemeyer, Johanna (Ewers) Reinkemeyer, Norbert Ewers, Ilda Ewers, Levina (Ewers) Hake, Cyril Ewers, Leavera (Ewers) Wibbenmeyer, Vernita (Ewers) Raab, and Arline (Ewers) Stephens. 

Near the home, a large barn was built in 1912. Grain, hay, animals, and equipment were stored and sheltered there. Still hanging in the barn is some horse tack and a wooden wagon Anton used. 

Ilda Ewers and his wife, Louise (Weider) Ewers, married in April 1939. For 10 years Ilda and Louise, and four of their children, shared living with Anton and Gertrude at the farmhouse. 

Ilda and Louise purchased the farm on February 3, 1949. They raised seven children; Francis Ewers, Phyllis (Ewers) Nelson, Kay (Ewers) Wieberg, Jim Ewers, Patricia (Ewers) Alberts, Linda (Ewers) Rush, and Leonard Ewers. 

An interesting note is that both Ilda and Louise were raised in German speaking households.  They both learned English when they entered the first grade at Visitation School. 

The large barn became a favorite adventure area for their visiting 35-plus grandchildren. The barn has preserved through much. Dents in it can be see from previous hail storms and bent metal siding from strong winds. 

Other farm attractions and blessings include the Keiser Branch and fresh water springs, trees, gardens, blackberries, gooseberries, walnuts, and hillsides for sledding. During the 1934 drought, Ilda recalled he and Anton cut down tree limbs for the cattle to eat the leaves. However the Keiser Branch and other wet springs did not dry up. 

When the 2012 drought affected over 80 percent of the contiguous United States, the water still flowed and never froze solid in the winters. Luckily with improved pasture management, tree limb cutting was not needed. In 1930 Anton and surrounding neighbor farms harvested and donated logs to build the original swinging bridge over the Maries River. When the bridge collapsed in the late 1960’s, Ilda and the neighborhood participated for the restoration. 

Logs from Anton’s original home were dismantled and reassembled for the corn crib shed. The corn crib is currently being refilled today! Three vegetable gardens surrounded the current farmhouse along with an additional one named The Truck Patch near the Keiser Branch. It was called The Truck Patch because the distance was too far to carry the vegetables home. 

The gardens must have been productive to provide meals for the threshing crew. Sometimes 10 neighboring farms would participate, bringing 40 or more people to each farm during the harvest season. Bread and blackberry pie baked in the summer kitchen were a welcome treat. 

Leonard and Cindy (McGrath) Ewers purchased the farm from Ilda and Louise in 1989, where they have raised two children, Michelle and Michael. The farm is mainly used to raise cattle, pasture, and row crops. Horses are no longer used, Ilda’s International Super C is used occasionally, and the John Deere cab-tractor is preferred. There are numerous stories to share for each view of the farm. 

Also calling the Ewers Family Farm home are Jeff and Michelle (Ewers) Hirschvogel with their three children, Brayden, Bryce and Josephine, and Michael and Kristin (Lowry) Ewers with their two children, Vera and Conrad.