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Old Maps and Drawings Discovered

Several old maps and drawings of Mennonite colonies in the Ukraine have recently been received by the Mennonite Heritage Centre courtesy of Diane W. Williams, Forestville, New York. The maps were discovered among the items saved by her father Gerhard Wiens.

Gerhard Wiens was born in Tashchenak, Russia on May 13, 1900, emigrated to the United States in 1920/21, lived in Newton, Kansas until 1939, when he married Olga Hiebert from Mountain Lake, Minnesota. He worked as a chemist for Robin Hood Flour in Kansas City, Missouri until he retired in 1965. In the 1969 Gerhard and Olga Wiens moved to Toronto. Gerhard Wiens passed away on May 13, 2000 on his 100th birthday.

One of the rare maps in this collection is entitled, “Karte der Molotschnaer Mennonite-Bezirk Halbstadt und Gnadenfeld Gouvernement Taurien.” The Molotschna Teachers’ Association commissioned a J. Janzen to prepare this map and it was published by A.J. Unruh, Tiege in 1912. After almost 90 years, this item is still in excellent condition.

Another rare item in Wiens collection is a map published in 1914 entitled “Mielitopol (Jekatierinoslaw)”. The language on the text on this map is in German. The map shows villages, estates, roads and railways and some physical geographical information of the district of Melitopol.

The most unique items in the Wiens collection are, however, a number of drawings of the estate Tashchenak. The land at this estate had been purchased by Johann Cornies before 1832. It was here that Cornies first attempted to establish a vineyard in 1836. Later, fruit orchards and sheep-shearing enterprizes were developed. Included in this collection of drawings is plan which shows the division of the estate to the heirs of David David Schroeder. These heirs included son Johan D. Schroeder and daughters Louise D. Wiens (Gerhard Wiens’ mother), Anna D. Enns and Katherina Sudermann.

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Last modified October 30, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Heritage Centre and the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies.
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