Photos supplied by the Monticello Area Historical Society

An excerpt from Monticello Past and Present about the Simon Roethlisberger barn, now the former Robert Buehl farm north, of Monticello: “Rolph Brothers Contractors and Builders was established by Green County natives, Charles F. Rolph and William V. Rolph in about 1897. The Rolph brothers were craftsmen and many of their buildings have stood the test of time. Examples of their work are the Voegeli Bros barn built in 1917 and the Voegeli farmhouse, the parsonage of Zwingli UCC in Monticello and many other houses and barns in Albany and Dutch Hollow.” 

According to Helen Rosethlesberger-Haldiman autobiography, in 1921 the Roethlisberger barn “burned when a spark from the gasoline engine on a threshing machine ignited straw and the entire structure was lost. Simon had the Rolph Bros build a new barn but much too large for the 160-acre farm.” 

Then in 1926, William Rolph died and the son of Charles F. Rolph, Charles M., took over his share of the business. Simon Roethlisberger was not able to pay for the new barn and the Rolph Brothers folded soon after as they could not continue without the needed payments. In 1927, four Stauffacher brothers bought the Roethlisberger farm: Conrad (married to Simon’s daughter, Emma), Fred, Dick, and Werner Stauffacher. For more, visit www.monticellohistoricalsociety.org.