Uncommon charm and extraordinary history, settled in Crofton, NE
Event venue, gathering place, & the most magnificent assortment of hay pulleys in the world.
Doug and Juliet de Shazer are the owners of the Crofton Haymarket. Growing up, Doug spent much of his time around Lewis and Clark Lake, visiting the cabin that's been in his family since 1974. The couple, originally from Omaha, NE, made the decision in 2010 to leave city life and build a quieter home for their family in the country. The slower pace of Crofton afforded Doug an opportunity to build a museum for his wide collection of hay pulleys, in addition to an event center and community gathering space right next door. Together, these properties make up the Crofton Haymarket.
Doug and Juliet have two children, Madalynne and Gavin, who regularly help out at the museum.
1867
John Henry Schwartz is born in Switzerland
1883
John and his brother, both butchers by trade, move to the United States. The brothers begin their first job at a packing house in Buffalo, NY. From there, John goes to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX and his brother moves to Minnesota.
1890
John packs up and heads to Omaha, NE where marries Constance Johns.
Over the next few years, John and Constance make several moves across Nebraska before settling their family in Crofton. John rents a building on 2nd Street and opens his own meat market.
1909
An entire half-block of Crofton burns down, including John’s butcher shop. After losing the meat market, John and Constance relocate to Centerville, SD to work for another butcher.
1911
John and Constance, now with 5 children (Louise, Edith, Georgina, Henry, and Otto), give birth to their 6th child, Carl (Fritz) in Centerville.
1913
Remembering Crofton fondly for its bounty of nearby creeks, John moves the family back and rents a building on Main Street near the Lumber yard. Soon after, another fire breaks out in a Bakery just east of John’s meat market, destroying an additional half-block of Crofton.
While working on plans for yet another a new building, John develops an interest in refrigeration and cisterns. He dams the creek north of town and cuts large ice blocks to sell to customers. With his earnings and some borrowed cash, John hires a contractor from Chicago to build the Schwartz building on Crofton's Main Street, as well as a home for John's family a half-block east. The new Schwartz building is constructed entirely of brick and concrete, ensuring it will never burn down again.
1918
The Schwartz Building is finished, and John opens a new grocery store and meat market. He hires two of his sons, Henry and Otto, to work for him; his son Carl is still in school.
The building gets fit with a smokehouse in the northeast corner of the basement, where meat is smoked on grates over a wood fire. Meat racks hang along the west wall of the basement to hold sides of beef and pork. A steam whistle sits atop the building to alert the townspeople when their ham, bacon, or hotdogs are done.
For the next few years, the east side of the building is used mainly for storage. The town band uses this space to store instruments.
1929
The Stock Market crash causes the banks to shut down. John, Henry, and Otto work together to pay off their debt. During this period, the famous "Schwartz Cash Market" sign (which currently hangs above the bar in the Haymarket) is fashioned.
1930
John passes away and Henry takes over the butcher shop and meat market.
1932
The east side storage is leased by a barber named O.D. Salley. Railroad workers come into town for a haircut, shave and a bath at Salley's shop.
One morning, Henry comes into work and Salley is not in his barbershop. Henry investigates and finds Salley dead from a head injury under a towel table in the back room. No one is arrested, but it is believed that Salley won big in a game of poker the previous night against a group of Railroad workers, who did not take kindly to losing. Salley's winnings are never recovered.
1934
Following Prohibition, Carl (Fritz) turns the east side of the Fritz Building into a liquor store and bar. He borrows $200 from his brother Henry to purchase a bar and back bar from an old tavern in Ponca. The bar is made from solid mahogany but blackened by smoke and fly specks. Led Bruder (the owner of two Diamond D Trucks) hauls the bar pieces while Carl stands in the back of the truck, protecting the huge mirrors as they make their way to Crofton.
1947
Henry sells the family home and moves into the basement of the Schwartz building while working on a new locker plant next door. A local contractor, Laurel Hammerback, builds the new brick structure in about six weeks. Today, this building functions as the Lewis and Clark Pulley Museum.
1970
Carl’s son Bob Schwartz joins his father in working at Fritz’s Bar. Bob spends several hours sanding and refinishing the bar, restoring it to like-new condition.
1980
Bob Schwartz sets up a TV repair shop in the "coffee room" located at the top of the basement steps.
1984
Bob closes Fritz’s Bar after the city of Crofton issues another liquor license, bringing the town total to nine.
1993
Barb Steffen buys the Schwartz building from Bob and his brother Dean. She continues to run Fritz’s Bar until May of 2015.
2017
Doug and Juliet de Shazer partner with Doyle and Joyce Stevens to purchase the empty Schwartz building, marking the establishment of Crofton Haymarket LLC.