Farm History
In 1926, John 'Hans' Eugster left his hometown of Speicher, Switzerland to start his own farm in America at the age of 25. He began work on a farm in New Glarus that belonged to a friend of his family.
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After being in America for a year, he married a woman named Berta from back home in Switzerland, and the two would begin creating their own American dream.
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They spent the next 7 years renting a farm in Mt. Vernon. Then in 1937, John and Berta bought a 160-acre farm in the Oregon area. That farm is on the corner of Schuster Rd and Rutland-Dunn Townline Rd.
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In 1946, they purchased a 300-acre farm for $50,000 at what is now known as Eugster's Farm Market (1st generation Eugster farmer on this land). Here they ran a large dairy operation that grew to over 120 cattle.
Improving technology helped John grow and expand the farm operations. Four horses were sold and were replaced with two tractors. When John purchased the farm's first tractor the story goes that he didn't know how to stop it so he pulled back on the steering wheel and yelled, "woah!" - as if it were a horse. This legendary tractor is still on display next to the Big Barn today.
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As John aged, he retired from farming at the end of 1960. John and Berta lived in the area until her passing in 1968 and his passing in 1993.
John Eugster Jr (2nd generation Eugster farmer) bought the farm on Highway 138 from John Eugster Sr on January 1st 1961. He had worked on the farm for his whole adult life after returning from his station on Okinawa during the Korean War.
For 13 years, John Jr and Pat Eugster continued the dairy operation on 138. In 1974, the sold the herd and shifted the farm into becoming a grain operation. They also raised peas and sweet corn. This is the first known beginning of Eugster's Famous Sweet Corn.
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As the next generation of Eugsters took the reigns, produce stands expanded into a petting farm, and then into the vegetable/entertainment farm we are today. Although things have changed, we Eugsters will never forget our heritage and history.
