The Stuga

A small, one-room house originally inhabited by Swedish immigrants is furnished with
 Swedish artifacts.  Located behind Faith Lutheran Church.  - Photo by Charles Hanson 

A "stuga", (meaning little house) is a typical Swedish house of days gone by and belonged to the family of John Nelson.  His father and mother had constructed this home, as they might have built in Sweden, in the southeast part of Minnesota in 1872.  In 1874 they came to Sac County, never returning to their former home.  John Nelson was born in Wheeler Township, south of Odebolt, February 22, 1879 and graduated from Odebolt High School in 1897.  John married Blanche Benson June 14, 1905.  

Later on in their marriage, John and Blanche decided they would travel to where his parents formerly lived.  To their surprise an old lady was able to point out the very house his father had built in 1872. It had not been used as a home for some time and the man who owned it was planning to tear it down.

The Nelsons purchased the old home with plans to move it to their farm south of Odebolt, called "The Maples". The stuga was taken down piece by piece and shipped.  When it arrived it was carefully reconstructed just as it was with the boards running up and down rather than in a horizontal position as we are used to seeing them. The exterior is a scheme popular all over Sweden. The Nelsons placed old family relics, many of Swedish origin, in this little house.  Blanche, a talented artist,  painted many Swedish proverbs and sayings on the beams of the interior.

After the Nelsons passed on, the "Stuga" was moved onto the Faith Lutheran Church property by Toy National Bank of Sioux City and was restored during the Spring and Summer of 1985.