Protection of the Weninger Property
Posted in Categories Land Protection
On August 23, 2024, CLCF closed on the purchase of the 32-acre Weninger Property from the Jack E. and Catherine M. Weninger Revocable Living Trust.
More than half of the property’s soils are categorized by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as prime farmland and soils of statewide importance. These soils have the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing crops with minimum inputs of fuel, fertilizer, pesticides and labor.
History: This property was part of 230 acres that Elisa Adelaide Weil purchased from the United States of America on February 1, 1848. In the 1880s, the Weils sold this parcel – and another 40-acre parcel south of Highway K – to Louis Funk (1849-1929). According to Lee and Mary Krueger, Louis came to the US from Germany. He married Albertina Wenzel, and together they worked the 80-acres of land. Louis’s son, William Funk (1885-1944) married Alma Arndt and had six children. Following William’s death, Alma continued to work the farm. Ultimately, Alma’s daughter, Irene Gessner, took over the farm. In 1975, Irene sold the farm to Jack Weninger. Prior to their purchase, Jack and his father, Roman, had rented the land since the 1950s.
Currently, John and Luke Weninger, of L-J Farms, Inc. lease the land and will continue to do so.
CLCF is grateful to the nine Weninger siblings for their willingness to conserve this property.
