We had a great time at the RV and MH Hall of Fame, which was nice considering that we had another maintenance issue just before we arrived at the Hall of Fame. As we pulled off the highway onto the ramp for the exit that took us to the RV and MH Hall of Fame, the wooden support that holds the windshield blind came crashing down onto the dashboard. It blocked Tim’s view of the road, so we stopped in the middle of the exit ramp until we could clear it out of the way and safely proceed. The cars behind us were not pleased that we had stopped on the exit ramp, but safety comes first. This all took less than a minute, but now, we would have to find another repair person to fix this new issue.
We drove on to our next destination: Sauder Village Campground in Archbold, Ohio. Erie Sauder started a woodworking business in Archbold, Ohio, in 1934. Today, Sauder Woodworking is the largest maker of ready-to-assemble furniture in the United States. As he grew closer to retirement, he worried that future generations wouldn’t understand the hard work and sacrifices that his pioneer ancestors made in coming to settle in this swampy area in northwest Ohio. So, he built Sauder Village. Now you can take a walk through time from 1803 through the 1920s to enjoy engaging stories, demonstrations, and fun activities while exploring historic homes, barns, gardens, and craft shops.
Sauder Village includes a campground, which is where we stayed. Our RV site had full hookups, and it was gravel with a picnic table and fire pit (no grill). On our first night in the campground, we made a few calls and sent a few text messages trying to find a person to repair the windshield blind support to no avail.
We had a number of Amazon packages shipped to Mike and Eric’s home in Chicago and picked them up while we were there, including something called an Ultrasonic Pest Repeller, since we discovered that our mouse friend had not yet left the RV. It came in a pack of six plug-in devices, and we plugged them in various rooms of the RV on our first night at Sauder Village Campground. It had an immediate effect as we watched not one, but two mice scramble out of the bathroom and run toward the cab of the RV (where we think they came in originally), but then run back to the bathroom when they saw us. It took a few hours before they made it to the cab of the RV without worrying about whether we were in the room. We haven’t heard or seen them (or any traces left of them) since. Alleluia!
The following day, we took a tour of Sauder Village. We enjoyed the museum with the history of Erie Sauder and northwest Ohio. We stopped in a few of the historic buildings and listened to the stories of the people who reenact history and demonstrate pioneer skills.
We spent several hours in Sauder Village, then headed back to the RV as we were expecting guests. Specifically, our friends John and Jade drove down an hour and a half from Ypsilanti, Michigan, where they have a home, to meet us in Archbold, Ohio, for dinner and drinks. They brought John’s twin brother, Jim, and Jim’s wife, Terry. We had a good meal at the Sauder Village restaurant located just outside of the campground, called The Barn Restaurant. Tim had fried chicken. Pat chose the buffet and had a variety of delicious home cooking style food items. After dinner, we all returned to the RV for drinks and to watch LSU in the College World Series on our outdoor TV (Jade was too nervous to watch). We really appreciated John and Jade coming all the way to Archbold to visit us, and we had a great time catching up.
Only two nights at Sauder Village, so onward to our next destination.
Review of Sauder Village Campground
Sauder Village is a great weekend getaway for the family. In addition to the campground, Sauder Village has an Inn, the Historic Village, the Museum, a General Store, the Barn Restaurant, and the Doughbox Bakery (featuring pies, cookies, donuts, muffins, and more).
The campground has 77 sites for RVs and 10 sites for tent camping; 55 of the RV sites have full hookups, 11 have electricity and water only, and 11 have only electricity. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit (no grills). The campground has bathroom/shower facilities and a laundry facility. The campground is located near a railroad track and there is some train noise during sleeping hours.
Other amenities campers can enjoy include a splash and spray water park area, indoor pool, and a playground. There is also a basketball court; gaga ball pit; and areas to play shuffleboard, volleyball, and horseshoes. Additionally, there are walking trails, a lake for fishing and the Erie Express train which is a detailed miniature replica of the original 1863 C. P. Huntington train, a steam locomotive built in 1863 for the Central Pacific Railroad.
We enjoyed all that Sauder Village had to offer. We particularly liked that there was a general store and a restaurant located on the property. We didn’t get an opportunity to hike the trails at the campground, but we understand that these are scenic and fun. We likely won’t be back in this area again, but if we are, we would consider staying at Sauder Village Campground again.
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