(Radio Iowa) – A fundraiser will be held December 4th to support restoration work at a site in northwest Iowa that’s on the National Register of Historic Places. The Brugjeld Peterson Point Historic Farmstead has a house, barn and other buildings that date back to the 19th century. It’s located east of Wallingford.

Stacie Berg Nelson is a member of the Peterson Point Preservation Foundation, which just signed a three year agreement to manage the farmstead. The group is primarily made up of descendants of the couple who built and moved into the house in 1870. “The generations that branch out from Peder and Gjertrud Brugjeld,” she says. “We are starting from nothing. We’re trying to raise funds so that we can make improvements. There’s a lot of restoration that needs to be done.”

Peterson homestead (Foundation photo)

The historic farmstead will be open from 1 to 1:45 p.m. on the December 4th, then a Scandinavian Christmas Concert will start at 2 p.m. at the nearby Ingham Lake Bible Camp. “We’re going to be offering a silent auction and Scandinavian treats,” Berg Nelson says. Another fundraiser is planned on the afternoon of December 10th.

“We’re going to be offering sleigh rides, Scandanavian treats, folk art demonstrations and offering a little concert with Christmas songs in the parlor and tours of the farm,” she says. “I believe we are going to have the blacksmith shop open as well and we’re going to have the forge up and running and so people can walk by and check it out.” Organizers are hoping to host a snowman competition — if there’s enough snow.

The Brugjeld-Peterson family was among the first Norwegian settlers in Emmet County. Descents owned the farmstead until 1996, when Maynard Peterson donated the site to Emmet County.