Lars Rudi, the son of a farmer in Uvdal, Numedal, Norway, was one of seven Rudi children who reached adulthood, and like all but one of his siblings, he immigrated to America in search of a better life. He and his new wife, Vighild Sunde, came to the United States in 1866, worked that first summer on the Lien Farm in Clayton County, Iowa, spent the winter with relatives in Rushford, Minnesota, and the next spring settled in Renville County near neighbors and family from Norway, including Lars' sister Turi, her husband Tov, and their four children across the river. The Rudis lived with Thor Helgeson until the summer of 1869, when a small log home was built for them from oak logs cut the previous winter, floated about three miles down the river in spring, dovetail notched in the Scandinavian way, chinked and whitewashed with lime plaster made from a kiln like Lars' own. Lars became a lay religious leader for the local cluster of Norwegian families, and the home served as a place for religious services, parochial school, and lodging for pioneer pastors working in the area. Vighild's sister Ingeborg stayed with them and helped with daily chores, and although Lars and Vighild had no children of their own, they helped raise many children and were loved by many people. Lars lived in the home until his death in 1913, after which Vighild and Ingeborg went to live with a nephew southeast of Sacred Heart until they died; all three were buried in the Opdal Church Cemetery southeast of Sacred Heart. Over the years the building gained a lean-to on the north side, which Ole Enestvedt removed during restoration in the 1920s as he began turning the place into an area museum, and in 1986 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.