This day laborer’s house originates from Vinsebeck (Steinheim, Höxter district) and was built in 1833. For 157 years, the Vinsebeck day laborer’s house was inhabited by poor people. A small entrance door leads to the hallway, from which the living room, several chambers, the kitchen, cellar, and stable are accessible. The builder, Anton Finke, disappeared without a trace one year after the house was built, and his wife’s name is still missing from the building inscription today.
The building was relocated to the museum in its entirety in 2001.
The small, two-story half-timbered house originates from Rietberg (Gütersloh district) and was built in 1602 by Jost Kleine as a storage building. In 1776, the Brigittenhäuschen was converted into a residential building and rented out. In 1891, the elderly Maria Wiedemeier and the seamstress Catharina Kleinegesse, who worked from home for a textile factory, lived in the Brigittenhäuschen. The narrow kitchen, stable, and outhouse were shared. In 1894, Catharina Kleinegesse was able to purchase the house and lived there with her sister Elisabeth, who had returned from America as a disappointed emigrant.
The small house, with a living area of around 50 square meters, was built in 1826 as a “Leibzucht” – a retirement cottage in Rösebeck (Warburg, Höxter district). In 1837, it was sold to the day laborer Johan Betken. He lived in the house with his family, and a female day laborer and her daughter also lived there as tenants. In 1881, Joseph Koch, who worked as a day laborer on the nearby Dinkelburg estate, purchased the house. He had the house rebuilt by 1883 and lived there with his wife and five children.
The building was constructed in 1824 as a poorhouse in the parish village of Rinkerode (Drensteinfurt, Warendorf district) in the Münsterland region. It dates back to a charitable foundation established in 1628 by the noble von Kerckering family. Four poor, single, elderly women lived in four small rooms, sharing a kitchen and living room. Each of the women also had a small piece of garden at her disposal. In the living room, the women had to pray daily for the salvation of the souls of their noble benefactors.
