Reimerhof Estate

The estate that Reimerhof later built on was originally owned by Johann Cornies. He was a big deal who had connections to the Russian aristocracy. He was the first president of The Agricultural Improvement Society, an Odesa-based commission that supported German colonists. The organization introduced modern farming practices to the colonies and later extended its reach to education and social life. The commission was sponsored by the Russian government with the hope that the master farming techniques of the Mennonites could be introduced to Jewish, Tatar and Russian villages. The society introduced dryland farming, use of fertilizer, and four-year crop rotation. Planting tobacco and mulberry trees for sericulture were promoted.

Cornies, himself, developed a large estate, Jushanlee, a model farm and showplace of South Russia. It was originally founded in 1830 on land granted by Tsar Nicholas I in the Molotschna Colony (present-day Ukraine). Crown princes Alexander I and Alexander II, as well as other government officials, visited the estate. His holdings were expanded by gifts from the government for his services and totaled 100 km2 (25,000 acres) at his death. He owned a large herd of thoroughbred cattle, 8,000 merinosheep, and 400 horses.

In 1879, the estate was acquired by Heinrich Heinrich Reimer (1837–1909) and his family. Following the purchase, the Reimer family demolished many of the original structure's outbuildings and constructed a massive, opulent, 74-room castle-like manor house on the property, which became widely known as the Reimerhof (or the Reimer Residence). 

In 1906,  Reimerhof was owned by my great grandfather, Heinrich A. Klassen after the passing of Heinrich Reimer. The estate of Jushanlee was inherited by Heinrich Reimer's son, David, who had married my great-grandfather's sister, Agnes. (the estate owners were very well inter-connected!)