By John Lauritsen
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SCANDIA, Minnesota (WCCO) — A Scandia, Minnesota, man has saved a big part of the state’s Swedish history.
“History is very important to this area,” said Jim Lindberg.
Lindberg was born and raised in Scandia. A part of the state that’s known for its green, lush countryside, especially on a rainy day.
Since he was a kid, Lindberg has been passing by the old cabin on Parrish Road. The family of Swedish immigrant Nels Bengst built the home in 1856. When Lindberg retired, he decided to buy it for himself.
“The bottom of this building had totally rotted out,” Lindberg said. “I knew the history of the property and I wanted to look at trying to restore it.”
So, he began dismantling it, piece by piece. He took out the logs and the planks, power washed them and debugged them, which means he had to remove insects from the wood. The walls had to come down, too. He found 19th century Swedish newspapers inside them.
“There were spots that were rotted out. Dovetail corners had to be replaced,” he said. “Definitely a labor of love.”
He let the planks sit in a barn for a year and then began putting it all back together, with a Cathedral ceiling, just like the Swedish settlers did.
The cabin is roughly 16 feet by 32 feet; not the biggest place, but at one point a family of nine actually lived there.
For the spots that were too rotted out, Lindberg used wood from his property, then added a few modern amenities so guests can stay comfortably. It took him five long years to complete his rustic restoration.
“To tell the truth, there may have been some naysayers a long time ago, but there aren’t any now,” Lindberg said. “It turned out much better than I ever anticipated.”
The cabin has even been part of an historic homes tour in Scandia.
“When you travel in Sweden you will see these types of cabins all over the place,” said Susan Rodsjo of the Scandia Heritage Alliance.
Rodsjo says there are far more log cabins in the area than you can see, and homeowners are starting to discover them.
“There is a gentleman near our downtown business area of Scandia who had no idea he had bought a house that was log underneath until he started to renovate his living room and cut through the wall and realized there were no studs. It was all logs,” Rodsjo said.
Discovering the past, and now Lindberg hopes other homeowner also return to a time that was.
“I hope they feel like taking care of a property that maybe looks like it doesn’t have a chance, it may be worth it,” Lindberg said.
Lindberg wants to thank everyone that helped him restore the cabin. Scandia also has plans to restore an old water tower barn in the coming year.
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Minnesota man restores 170-year-old log cabin: “Definitely a labor of love.” News Channel 3-12.
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