At Tuesday's Elkhart County Commissioners meeting, members approved funding for several major park initiatives, including a $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. The money will help restore the DeFries Homestead at DeFries Gardens in New Paris. The home was donated to the county in 1996.
The structure has sat vacant for nearly a decade. Elkhart County Parks Director Ronda DeCaire says the home was once a caretaker’s residence but will now serve as a public space, fulfilling the wishes of the late Beth DeFries, who passed away in 2016.
“When Beth DeFries donated her 14 acres of property back in 1996, she also donated the home that is there. It was built in 1881.”
The project is part of a broader initiative that includes the restoration of another historic structure: a 19th-century log cabin in Waterford. The cabin will be relocated and restored, with funding from the Mishler Brown Fund and a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation.
