CHAPPELL -- Just a short walk from Highway 30 through the pristine residential neighborhood stands a house that is family history, and a history of the community.

The home is functional history with tours, and events, scheduled throughout the year.

The Sudman-Neumann Heritage House was built in the early 1900s, and credited as the first house in the community to have electricity and running water. 

 Sharon Beers, president of the Chappell Museum Association, said the house was built in 1911 by Fred and Minnie Sudman. The family entered the home with heartache, losing their 14-year-old son in a car accident prior to moving into the new house.  Fred Sudman died soon after moving into the house. They had five children, and built the house accordingly.

The last of the family to live in the home was Maude and her son Bud Newman. 

"She died in '86, and he lived here by himself for a short time, and then he moved to the assisted living area," Beers said during a recent tour. 

The house is periodically used for teas, mystery dinners and other community events. It is currently decorated with the imagination of various community groups to a Christmas theme. Each bedroom and common room is decorated to manger scenes and other Christmas themes.  Tours of the Heritage House are available 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. each Sunday in December, or call Beers at 308-874-6346.

She said the house was a continuous family home until about the mid 1980s. The house was then donated to the City of Chappell. The Chappell Museum Association rents the house from the City. The Heritage House is maintained by a volunteer staff. 

"It's all volunteer, and we get money from donations. That's what supports it, and we do get money -- grants -- to help us through; other than that, it's donations," Beers said.

She said the Chappell Museum Association is constantly seeking volunteers to help with the Heritage House. 

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1990. The house has now been restored to an early 20th-century appearance and is operated as the Sudman-Neumann Heritage House Museum.