From ‘For Sale’ to ‘Protected Forever’: The Riegsecker Family Legacy
From a chance discovery to permanent protection, the Riegsecker family legacy spans seven decades of conservation.
On Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965, a tornado struck Jesse and Agnes Riegsecker’s homestead outside Middlebury, Indiana. It was one of 10 that moved through the state that day, destroying the family’s home and much of the surrounding woodland.
But the Riegseckers’ connection to this land — which had come into their possession through an unlikely stroke of fate 14 years earlier — would prove stronger than any storm.
A Chance Discovery
In 1950, a simple rest stop changed the course of the Riegsecker family’s life. Jesse and Agnes Riegsecker pulled over to give their children a break from traveling, only to spot a “For Sale” sign in the yard of what would become their future home. The property had an unusual history: initially sold in an estate sale, the courts had deemed the price too low and mandated a second sale. With one uncontested bid of $13,300, the Riegseckers became the owners of a house and 385 acres outside Middlebury.
“Their friends, instead of thinking they had a great deal, thought they were nuts,” recalls their son Joe Riegsecker. “I mean, this was out in the middle of nowhere.”
Like most farming families of the era, the Riegseckers immediately set to work. Though the soil wasn’t prime farmland, Jesse’s determination made it productive. They raised corn and alfalfa alongside cattle and hogs. Through years of persistent labor, they paid off the farm — a testament to Jesse’s unwavering work ethic.
Building Through Adversity: The 1965 Tornado and Rebuild
In 1958, the family celebrated a milestone: constructing a new house to replace their deteriorating home. “It was a huge event for us kids because the old house really was a disaster,” Joe remembers. Seven years later, the Palm Sunday tornado would test their resilience, but the Riegseckers rebuilt, their commitment to this land unshaken.
Continuing the Riegsecker Family Tradition of Stewardship
Decades passed, and Joe eventually returned to the homestead with his wife, caring for the property for 31 years. After Jesse’s death in 2008 and Agnes’ passing in 2013, Joe began thinking about the land’s future. A simple Google search in 2016 led him to ACRES Land Trust, opening years of conversations about preserving his family’s legacy and the place they called home.
From Family Farm to Protected Natural Area
The property Joe and his brother John entrusted to ACRES offers a variety of habitats. Scattered stands of black oak and their diverse understory offer glimpses of the region’s historical landscape. Today, however, most of the property comprises equal parts wetland and early successional fields. Thirty acres of oak/hickory forests persist on the steeper slopes, and a high-quality fen wetland and bog-like system add to the property’s ecological significance.
Joe’s stewardship set a strong foundation for ACRES conservation work. He devoted countless hours to removing invasive bush honeysuckle from the forestland and planting thousands of trees — a project he counts among his favorites. Blue Heron Ministries has contributed to managing invasive species in the property’s high-quality wetland and adjacent uplands.
The Riegsecker Legacy Lives On at ACRES
As ACRES plants 11,000 trees this spring and retires the property’s final agricultural field, the land enters a new phase of transformation. The Jesse and Agnes Riegsecker Natural Area is ACRES first publicly accessible property in Elkhart County.
What began with a family’s chance discovery of a “For Sale” sign has evolved into a lasting legacy of conservation. Under ACRES protection, the Riegseckers’ legacy lives on in these wetlands, forests and fields — where ‘Protected Forever’ has replaced ‘For Sale’ as nature’s final chapter.
