Brugjeld–Peterson Family Farmstead District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Brugjeld–Peterson Family
Farmstead District |
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The 1870 Petersen house
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2349 450th Ave. |
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| Nearest city | Wallingford, Iowa |
| Area | 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) |
| Built | 1870 |
| Built by | Peder N. Brugjeld Peder N. Peterson |
| NRHP reference No. | 00000326 |
| Added to NRHP | April 6, 2000 |
The Brugjeld–Peterson Family Farmstead District is a special place in rural Emmet County, Iowa, near Wallingford. It's also known as Lakeside Farm or the Peterson Point Historical Farmstead. This farm is a historic district, which means it's a group of buildings and land that are important to history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the year 2000.
Contents
What Makes This Farm Special?
The farmstead sits on a raised piece of land. On one side is High Lake, and on the other is a wetland called Cunningham Slough. This historic area includes ten important parts that tell its story.
Buildings and Structures
There are seven main buildings that are part of the historic district:
- The main house
- A barn
- A blacksmith shop
- A cook/wash house
- A chicken coop
- A hog house
- A sheep barn
There are also three other important structures:
- A cob shed (for storing corn cobs)
- A wood shed
- A corn crib (for drying and storing corn)
The Oldest Parts of the Farm
The main house was first built in 1870. It was a log cabin made by Peder N. Brugjeld and his son, Peder N. Peterson. Later, wooden boards called clapboard siding were added to the outside. In 1895, Peder N. Peterson added a stone part to the house. The barn was built sometime between the 1870s and 1890. The corn crib is also quite old, dating from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Most of the other buildings were built in the early to mid-1900s.
A Family's Journey to Iowa
This farm shows the story of Norwegian-American families settling in the United States. It also highlights how important blacksmithing was for people living in the countryside.
From Norway to Iowa
The Brugjeld family, Peder and Gjertrud, along with their six children, left their farm in Balestrand, Norway, in 1848. They sailed across the ocean on a ship called the Dorothea to reach the United States. First, they lived in Dane County, Wisconsin. Later, they moved and made their home in Emmet County, Iowa.
The Farm's Legacy
The Peterson family, descendants of the Brugjelds, owned this farm for four generations. In 1996, Maynard Peterson, a member of the family, gave the farm to Emmet County.
The Farm Today
Today, the Emmet County Conservation Department and the Emmet County Conservation Foundation take care of the farm and the 40 acres around it. They run it as a special place where people can learn about history. It's like a living museum, showing what farm life was like long ago.
