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Our History
THE HERITAGE 1865 LEGACY
FAMILY VALUES MATTER
At Heritage, you are invited to be a part of the family. It is our family tradition to treat all our guests as one of us which is why we’d like to share with you just a bit about our history.
Our earliest known grandfather was John Hanna Ewing (1584-1640 - 11th great grandfather to Ted Ewing) who hailed from Wigtownshire, Scotland. Four generations later, his great-grandson Henry B. Ewing (1701-1782) emigrated from Inch Island, County Donegal, Ulster, Ireland in the early 1700s, settling in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
From there and three generations thereafter, his great-grandson, Samuel Ewing, Jr. settled the property we now generally refer to as Heritage 1865. Samuel, together with his wife, Eliza, and their eight children, arrived in Wayne County, Iowa in 1865 by wagon train. For the price of $19.12 per acre, they would later purchase 80 acres of land which is still part of the lands our family owns and has been working for over 150 years.
These beautiful acres of rolling timbers and rich cropland have been passed down, uninterrupted, to consecutive generations of Ewings since 1865. Today, Travis and Abby Ewing operate what has become known as Heritage 1865 Hunting Lodge and Outfitters. Travis founded Heritage on the fundamentals of family, education, land management, preservation, and a passion for the outdoors. Travis & Abby invite you to be their guests today.
At Heritage 1865, guests are treated to a unique experience custom-tailored to your excursion desires. Your experience may look like a getaway weekend with family, a significant other or several of your friends. You always have the option to have the entire place to yourself. It doesn’t get more private and relaxing than that! When you reach out for more information, let us know if you are interested in exclusivity and we can talk about how to make that happen. The Heritage experience is rooted in history, a passion for hunting, fishing, and the extensive love and care for the private, family-owned land. Book your visit today and start your piece of history through the land, hospitality, abundant whitetail, upland bird, waterfowl, turkey and fish populations.
Welcome to Heritage 1865. We look forward to having you with us soon.