From 1866 to 1893, this farmstead was the home of the Veblen family, one of the most prominent Norwegian immigrant families of the nineteenth century. The family's most distinguishing trait was its emphasis on education. Of the nine children who lived to adulthood, all but one finished secondary school, several studied at the college level, and three graduated from Carleton College. Andrew and Thorstein completed the Carleton curriculum in three years and then pursued postgraduate studies, and Emily was reputedly the first daughter of Norwegian immigrants ever to graduate from an American college. Many of the Veblen children were teachers during at least part of their careers. The most famous was Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929), the internationally recognized economist and social critic whose first book, The Theory of the Leisure Class, made him a national literary and intellectual figure after its 1899 publication and introduced concepts including the best-known term, "conspicuous consumption." The farmhouse itself marks a transition from the old world to the new: its exterior is in the Greek Revival style typical in the United States during much of the nineteenth century, while the full-length porch and exterior stairs derive from building traditions in the Valdres district of Norway, from which Thomas and Kari emigrated, and its interior layout and decoration are predominantly Norwegian. The high level of craftsmanship throughout the house and barn is due primarily to Thomas, a skilled carpenter and cabinetmaker who brought his tools and talents to the new world. The Veblens lived in Wisconsin from their arrival in 1847 until 1865, when they moved to Minnesota, attracted by good farmland and several relatives nearby. In 1864 Thomas bought 200 acres of unimproved land surrounding this site, and in 1865 he purchased another 90 acres of partly cultivated land just east of what is now Nerstrand Woods State Park. After the family's arrival in July 1865, they lived on the smaller farm while work began on the new house. Foundation stones were quarried in what is now Nerstrand Woods State Park and hauled here during the winter; by the fall of 1866 the foundation walls had been completed and covered with a temporary roof, and the family moved in late that year. The shell of the house was probably erected in 1867, the house assumed its final form about 1870, and the barn was built around 1872. The site remained a working farm until 1970. Its preservation followed through later purchase, repair, restoration, and historic recognition, and the restored house endures as a reminder of Norwegian-American immigrant life in the last half of the nineteenth century.