Knute Nelson, known for his courage and common sense, served the people of Minnesota as a public officeholder for more than 50 years. Born in Norway in 1843, he was elected to the Minnesota legislature and to two terms in the United States Congress before becoming the state’s first foreign-born governor in 1893. He then served with distinction for 28 years in the United States Senate, where he championed conservation, a federal income tax, and pure food and drug legislation. A Civil War veteran, Nelson homesteaded in Douglas County in 1871 and a year later built a simple L-shaped house. In 1915 a second story and west wing were added to the structure. It remained the Nelson family home until his death in 1923, when it was willed to the American Lutheran Church to be used for services to the aged.