By Ken Drenten

Sauder Heritage Village includes a recently completed 1920s-themed Main Street section. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

I guess I’m the type who likes going back to places I enjoy time after time. I like discovering new places as well, but when I find somewhere that hits the sweet spot, I want to return again.

That’s how it is for me with Sauder Heritage Village and Inn, a 235-acre family resort-style complex in far northwest Ohio, just outside the town of Archbold in Fulton County. I really like this place.

Over the years, my wife and I have been back a number of times — as a couple on our own, with family members staying in the Sauder Heritage Inn, and with other family members camping at its well-appointed campground. Each time I go, I think of other people I’d like to have come with us to enjoy it the next time we visit.

Sauder Village was the brainchild of Erie Sauder, founder of the Sauder Woodworking Co., maker of ready-to-assemble wood furniture. His goal was to create a place that would help people understand the pioneering, entrepreneurial spirit of Ohio’s ancestors. Construction on the complex started in the early 1970s and it’s been growing ever since. Perhaps most surprisingly, the place is run by a non-profit organization.

Part of Sauder Village’s serene, garden-like historic village. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

Sauder Village is the type of place that has everything you need and then some, but it’s not ostentatious. For such an amazing place, it keeps a fairly low profile. It checks all the boxes for me. Here’s what the resort offers:

• A well-furnished, timber-framed hotel with large, well-appointed rooms and a huge, relaxing commons area for breakfasts (free to hotel guests), family gatherings, indoor pool and whirlpool.
• The Barn Restaurant (in an actual 19th century barn) with homestyle meals served to your table or buffet-style.
• The Doughbox Bakery, with donuts, cakes, pies, bread, apple butter and other freshly baked goods.
• An amazing historic 19th-century themed Heritage Village with gardens, farm and knowledgeable interpreters who craft glassware, pottery, brooms, metalwork, cabinetry and more. The newest addition, an early 20th century-era Main Street complete with a car dealership, a grocery store and a soda fountain, is excellent.
• A museum with numerous displays and artifacts relating to the history of Northwest Ohio.
• A campground with 87 full hookup sites for RVs, always-clean restrooms and shower house, a splashpad and fishing lake.
• A convention center with meeting space for hundreds, as well as concerts, classes, special events and much more.
• A Sauder Outlet Store on the premises; you’ll find lots more opportunities for shopping throughout the resort.
• Want to get off the ranch? Within a mile or so in various directions are the town of Archbold, Homestead Ice Cream Shoppe and Knotty Vines Winery, as well as an Amish-style restaurant.
• If you’re feeling more adventurous, it’s a great home base for daytrips into Toledo (Tony Packo’s and the Mud Hens, anyone?) or northeastern Indiana (the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Ind. is a must-see).

Sauder Heritage Village and Inn is located at 22611 SR 2, Archbold; phone 1-800-590-9755.

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Ken Drenten is creator and manager of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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