More History

Dream Apple Farm is home to a beautiful farmhouse ruin dating back to the 1800s. The parcel was purchased from the federal government in 1836, and sometime before 1860 the original farmhouse was built using fieldstone from the property.

The farmhouse became home to Margarete Schommer, one of the few female lightkeepers in the nation, when her husband and Port Washington lighthouse keeper, Bernard Schommer, passed away in 1859.

Margarete worked as the lightkeeper after his passing, including opening the “new” lighthouse built in 1860. In August 1861, she married John Schneidish and moved into the newly expanded farmhouse on the Dream Apple Farm property. The brick on the expansion is reported to come from the Guenther brickyard down the street in Port Washington – the same that is used on the exterior of the J. Thill Building.

John fought in the Civil War as part of the Wisconsin 16th infantry, where he sustained a severe injury to his arm. Margarete used her knowledge and acumen of the harbor to keep the farm running during the war and get their wheat to the Port Washington shipping piers. 

Margarete passed away in 1882, and John Sr. passed away in 1888 when his wagon and horses struck a telegraph pole. John and Margarete had three children: Francesca, John Jr., and Christoph. Their son Christoph took over the farm and kept it running as late as 1902. 

The property was abandoned for decades before it was brought back to life as a farm after Ed and Peggy purchased it in 2012. After purchasing Dream Apple Farm back in 2012, owners Ed and Peggy Callahan spent the next two years converting the distressed property into the orchard of their dreams.