Located in: Waconia, Minnesota

Anders Pettersson left Sweden in 1850, bound for the new world, and settled in Carver County, Minnesota, bought land to farm, and anglicized his name. He was one of 1.3 million Swedes who emigrated to the Upper Midwest in the 19th Century, so his life would be unremarkable but for the fact that, from the day he left Scandinavia, until his death in 1898, he kept a detailed daily journal.

The diaries were later donated to the Minnesota Historical Society where they were discovered in the archives by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg, who used them as the story line for a series of best-selling novels in 1949. In 1971, Swedish film director Jan Troell turned the books into award-winning feature films, The Emigrants, and The New Land, starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann.

The farm remained in the Peterson family until 1943, when a neighboring farmer, Ward Holasek bought the property and employed most of the buildings. Recognizing the historical significance of the farm, he also preserved the house. At his death, the site was gifted to the Carver County Historical Society, which launched an effort to restore the buildings in the late 20-teens.

A $250,000 Capital Campaign Challenge Grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation in 2019 focused on the restoration of the house. In spite of having to fundraise amid the Covid pandemic, the challenge was met and the restored house opened as an agricultural learning center in 2024. The restoration of additional barns and outbuildings continues.