A land stake on 160 acres of choice bottom land three miles northeast of Western along the Swan Creek in South Fork Precinct in 1861 by Michael Frederick Witt which was followed by a land grant signed by President Andrew Johnson in 1867, on this same property, earns for Roger Zabel of Western the family land ownership record in Saline County.

The Michael Witt “Fachwerkbau” near Western was entered into the National Register of Historic Places Jan.

This article was copied from the Fairbury Journal-News of 2-15-1980 Area Architectural Rarity On Historical Places List