The Sigdal House is the oldest in North Dakota. A 230-year-old house from the Vatnas area of Sigdal, Norway was selected to be representative of a typical house from old-time Norway.
It was purchased by the Scandinavian Heritage Association from Thorvald Watnas and restored with museum standards by Arne Svarstad and crew. The house was then dismantled with each log being carefully numbered for accurate reassembling. Even the old moss which was used to seal in between the logs was saved along with the rocks that formed the fireplace. The entire house was carefully packed in an overseas container and shipped to Minot, and Svarstad and his helpers reassembled the house in the park.
The decorations on the doors inside the house as they were painted about 1800 by the famous painter from Sigdal, Guldbrand Larsen Foss and were restored by artist Hans Wold prior to the house coming to America.
The completed house was dedicated on October 15, 1991 as a tangible reminder of the important part our forebears have played in the lives of all of us.