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Hand-Hewn Log Home was Built in the 1800’s

In 1989 we purchased a Wisconsin farm which had two houses on the property. One was situated on each side of the driveway. The one we live in was built in 1903 and the other was much older. It was a two story, hand-hewn-log house. The Magnuson family had built it in the 1800’s when they immigrated from “Smoland Praire,” a Province in Sweden. That is why we named our inn — “Smoland Praire Homestead Inn.”

No one had lived in the house for 50 years except squirrels. The squirrels had eaten holes in the wooden floors upstairs. There was no glass in most of the windows and the doors would not open or close. The foundation was crumbling, too. Renovating the house promised to be a challenge, an adventure and a “dream come true” for us. The first thing we did was put plastic on all the windows and storm doors on to preserve the old inside doors. We have taken pictures of the house before and after for people to see and compare when they come.

Getting Started

When our last son graduated from high school in 1996, we decided to take out a loan and really get started. We first had to have a house moving company come out, dig under the house and lift it up (it weighed 50 tons) then put a basement in. We also had to put a furnace in to keep the basement warm, so it would not cave in when the frost went out of the ground (House Moving Co. — Bill Rouney — Cushing WI. 715-825-3822). (Basement — Oachs Construction Inc. Grantsburg WI. 715-689-2526).

Next came the new roof. During an earlier storm, a tree had fallen on the house. It displaced one log upstairs and one branch went through the roof. The roof had to be taken off. There were shingles and pine wood shakes on the house. Some repairs had to be made to the roof and then new green shingles were put on. New steel eaves were put on, too, which eliminated painting and also kept out squirrels. (Flodin Construction Co. Siren WI. 715-349-5062)

Interior Work

Beginning in the spring, our family and friends spent 3 months gutting out the house — removing plaster, laths and 10 layers of wallpaper. There were also oak tongue-and-groove wood thick on the ceilings with the 10 layers of wallpaper on them. I took the entire ceiling wood outside and soaked the wallpaper with a lawn hose, then removed it with a paint scraper.

We found that the wood had the original milk paint on the boards. We then used the boards on some of the walls in the house. We also had a wardrobe made from the wood for one of the bedrooms, because there are no closets at all in the house. We took all the chimneys out and saved the old brick hoping to put them to use elsewhere.

It’s a Blast

The logs had a cement-like film on them and were not particularly attractive. However, they were now ready for sandblasting, which was the next step in beautifying them. My husband called Kevin Wickstrom from Cumberland WI (715-822-3875). He said that he had never sandblasted the inside of a house before, but my husband told him it is like sandblasting outside because there are so few windows in the house. Kevin said he would come out and try it and it turned out great! After that, I spent many long hours applying polyurethane to all the logs.

Next Dan Flodin started to install the windows. To save money we worked it out with Dan that we would do all the clean up and prepare wood for him to just come in and put up. The kitchen had built-in cupboards, which we thought were really neat so we left them in place. There was a small room above part of the kitchen, that you could only access from the outside window or upstairs over the logs. We decided to open up this part of the kitchen and put tongue and groove pine up. We also put in an old stain glass window from a church in Louis. The window had survived a fire in the church.

Exterior Work

We had the two porches that had fallen off the house years ago restored. We put a small screen porch on the back of the house, using an old screen door that was one of two that had come from an old store years ago. The door is narrow and tall, being very old fashioned. This porch is where we sit to relax and watch the cows and horses out back. We put an enclosed porch on the front of the house with a high ceiling and we put up the same tongue and groove pine we used throughout the house. We used an old door with a stained glass window as an entryway to the old log home. This old door was the original door on our house and had been removed when Magnusons remodeled. Luckily for us, they saved the lovely window and door when they remodeled years ago. The window in the entryway is also from the old store and has advertising on it.

Next we put in the drain field and hooked up the water from the well to the house. We took one of the downstairs bedrooms and made that into a bathroom.

Fixtures and Finishing Touches

We now began installing the plumbing: old fixtures in the bathroom, a clawfoot bathtub, pedestal sink and porcelain toilet that hangs on the wall. We also wanted to install a bathroom upstairs in a small closet, but were unable to put the toilet in because all the necessary pipes would have had to come down in the middle of the kitchen ceiling. Instead, we made this closet into a small dressing room with a sink, where one can freshen up, apply makeup or whatever. (Gary Beecroft Siren WI 715-648-5551 put in the water. Ken Strabel Webster WI. 715-349-2990 put in the drain field).

We took all the linoleum off the hardwood floors. I cleaned them up, leaving all the old stains and things the way they were. I then polyurethaned the floor. We put old oriental rugs down on the hardwood floors in the parlor and dining room. Scatter rugs were put down on other floors to help keep the wood floors nice. We left the bathroom floor with the old gray paint on it.

We then had to think about heating the rest of the house, for the coming weather. We installed a new furnace when we did the basement, but were having trouble with it and decided to put another new furnace in (more and more money all the time). Then we ran all the heat ducts, cutting holes between the downstairs floor and the basement to put vents in. We ran heat ducts to the upstairs through the hole in the dining room floor where we had taken the chimney out. All the rest of the tongue and groove pine was put up. Then I polyurethaned all of that wood. (Joe Johnson – Grantsburg WI. 715-463-2078 put in the furnace). (The Hennessey Boys – Elk River MN. 612-441-5365 put in the entire ductwork and central air).

Dressing it Up

When all that was done and cleaned up, I was able to start decorating, which was the most fun for me. I have tried to use things from back in the 1800’s to furnish the house and when most people come they say “This is like taking a step back in time,” or “I can remember my Grandmother had one of those, that she used to use.”

We began to think about insulating the house before cold weather set in. We had to remove all the old siding and then wrap the house in Trivac (or Tyvec) before Dan Flodin could come out and install insulation and white vinyl siding. We could not have done all the work without the help of our two sons and their friends on Labor Day weekend. The old siding was pine lap siding with the paint worn off and it looked really neat. I took all the nails out of the siding, which took me two weekends but it was worth it. We knew we wanted the old siding on the farm somewhere.

We decided to finally finish our wrap-around porch and that old siding was the finishing touch on the inside of the porch. We had purchased most of our lumber from Johnson Lumber of Siren. They told us they had some old cedar wood available in different sizes but that there was water stains on the wood. We took all they had and Dan, along with our son, John, installed all the cedar on the inside ceiling of the porch. It turned out more beautifully than we ever dreamed. Next we put up two ceiling fans and hung old tools on the cedar.

There was some siding left over, which we put to use when we converted an old chicken coop into a Garden Shop. My husband hung the siding on the walls of the shop. This is along the East Side of the house. We also put up a fence with an arbor and laid a cement walkway to and from the shop.

Lastly, we fixed up the old summer kitchen on the farm. Dracy Strack of Grantsburg (715) 689-2798 was the biggest help in doing this. He is a “Jack of all Trades” and can do almost anything. My husband, Shamus, helped him to lift the old kitchen and put a new foundation under it. Then they put the old floor back down over the cement. We all worked on the inside, putting some of the old sub-floor boards from the Granary on the walls along with some of the old siding from the house.

And finally

After much hard work and many setbacks and disappointments, we are open for business. We rent the house for business meetings, parties, luncheons and welcome people to stay overnight or longer. We also sell antiques and many gift items in many of our shops on the farm. It is lovely and peaceful walking through the woods behind the farm and hayrides are also available.

Year 2000 Update

We offer hayrides that accommodate up to 15 people at one time. We take them out back of our 165-acre farm, where we follow beautiful wooded trails. In the future, we hope to have horse-drawn sleigh rides. This type of horse is very expensive and does not fit into our budget at this time.

We realize that although people enjoy the history of the farm and the antiques, they also may prefer some modern day conveniences. We moved a summer kitchen from a neighboring farm and converted it into a “Sauna/Steam Room.” We also installed a hot tub for those who like to relax in that manner.

We continue to make changes to our log house. We found we needed more space for our antiques and have taken over a small red horse barn that had been the granary many years before. There are five rooms downstairs and two rooms up. We use this for our Antique Shop. Presently the building is unheated, but those who choose may still go through in the winter.

We keep horses on the farm and found we needed more room for them, also. Our horse, Miss Fealty, foaled last April presenting us with Sunny Boy. She will produce another foal next spring. Gestation period is twelve months. We converted our large machine shed into a horse barn. We will soon offer horse-related items for sale in the barn.

Year 2001 Update

We are turning our small garage into a Wood Shop, where we will repair things, do refinishing and create items for sale in the different farm shops.

We have had many requests to accommodate large groups for holiday parties, wedding dinners/receptions and various other activities. We hope to build a large room, well insulated and heated, that will handle these types of gatherings. Here, too, we will offer items for sale so that the room will be put to use all year long.

We hope to encourage outdoor games that will not cost any money, but will be a lot of fun for families or groups. We have horse shoes, tug-of-war, bocce ball, frisbee, etc. in hand. All fun things for a summer outing on the farm.

We are having Jerry Marek till and plant a pumpkin patch in one of our fields, where we can take children on a hayride to choose and pick their own pumpkins in the fall. Corn stalks for decorating purposes will be available, also.

Year 2002 Update



Tornado Aftermath

Our lives and businesses have changed dramatically since we were hit by the tornado on June 18, 2001. We feel blessed just to be alive. Luckily, our house sustained the least damage of all the structures. However, we lost our hay shed and the horse stable, where we offered a number of horse-related items for sale. Our barn, which we had just fixed up for a Santa Shop, is all gone; along with all the items we had hoped to sell from there. Also, our Garden Shop is gone.

The Granary, which was our main Antique Shop, remained standing, but the building shifted so badly we are not able to open it to the public. Now we will use the Granary for storage. Due to all of this, we are no longer able to sell antiques, crafts or collectibles as we did in the past.

We are preparing for an auction in the spring, on Sunday, May 26th, 2002. This will take place during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend. People still take an interest in the farm and stop by on occasion. I have been taking their addresses and will mail them a flier regarding the auction. Also, we will post signs on the highway a month before the actual auction takes place.

Although we lost some beef cows and one of our horses, we continue to sell beef (whole, half or quarter) and farm fresh eggs. These things you will find for Sale in our Summer Kitchen and also a few small antique items and other kitchen items.

It was necessary to discontinue hayrides for now. We have over one hundred trees down in our woods, where the trail used to go through. It will probably take us a couple years before we have all of the downed trees cleared out.

The roof on our Bed & Breakfast was blown off and one of the log walls fell in. Thankfully, Merrifield Builders (715-327-4491) has fixed all that and restored it to its former state, better than ever. We plan on opening March 2nd for tours of the hand-hewn log home and to once again welcome guests to stay overnight.

The clean up was, and is, a daunting task; simply unbelievable. We could never have come this far without the help of family, friends and complete strangers who simply stopped by to lend a hand. They are no longer strangers, but friends. With everyone’s help we have put up a beef shed and we had a large pole shed built to store hay and machinery. It will also serve as a place for our horses for the winter.

Everyone is invited to tour the log B&B, check out the Summer Kitchen and walk around and enjoy the farm. A small fee applies.

If you have time, please stop by. You are always Welcome.
We also sell farm fresh eggs and natural beef.

Year 2003 Update

In 2003 we had remodeled the kitchen in our house (which was built in 1903). We took the wall out, which was between the kitchen and back porch and made the back porch into a breakfast area. We also put a gas fire place in and six big windows — which you can see around the farm when you set to have breakfast.

When we remodeled the kitchen, we also updated the all the appliances: black refrigerator, black built-in oven, black built-in dishwasher, and black microwave. The stove that we used is an old gas one, which I still have to light with a match (it is green, tan and black).

Larry Merrifield (715-327-4491) was the carpenter, he also built all the new maple kitchen cabinets, with glass door fronts. We put pine v-joint on the ceiling, and half the walls (makes it warm and cozy looking). We were able to help Larry, do the gutting out of the kitchen. I did all the clean-up each day and was also able to do the finishing of the walls and cabinets to save some money. We also tried to mix the old and new together, the old gas stove to cook on, an old oak church altar – which is used for an island. We put a butcher-block top on it and we also used a 8' high hutch that came out of an old bar.

The state came out and checked everything and we were able to get our B&B license, now I can make breakfast for all that stay in the Inn. We also have fixed up a room in our house, for just a single person to stay. We have had a few single people stay for a night or two (that worked out well).

When the weather is nice, I serve breakfast out on our big wraparound porch, or in our new breakfast area off the kitchen, or I can serve breakfast over in the old house too. I have also done some picnic basket breakfasts, which guests could take out to Crex Wildlife Area, so they could watch the birds.

We have had a lot more people staying at the B&B — it is so nice to meet everyone from all over the county. We are able to set down with them and talk over breakfast about all kinds of things.

Year 2004 Update

We took out the hot-tub (which the State wouldn’t let our guests use). We have now changed that room into a “Gathering Room” for people to use. It is right next to the fire pit area, so if it rains, you can also sit in this room. We put more side-walk in around the old house.

Put in some flower gardens with arch-ways. We had a wedding on the farm in October and have another wedding scheduled for October 2005, too. The wedding party took our new hay-wagon to the Fair Grounds, where the reception and dance was to be held.

We have 156 acres of a working beef farm, where we also sell our own “Buelingo Beef” off the farm. Whole, halves, or quarters and lean ground beef, we are licensed to sell right off the farm. We have been selling more every year and we needed to expand.

Our nephew found a walk-in freezer 12'x9' by 8' high, then we had a building built around it, which will also have a little store front where people can come in to pick up meat. We do not processes the meat on our farm, we have all the processing done by Daeffler’s Quality Meats (they are a small family own meat market) in Frederic WI. We are going to have ground beef on hand all the time. We are going to try to have steaks, beef sticks and summer sausage on hand, too.

The summer kitchen (years ago, woman would do all of there cooking and canning, in this separate kitchen, so as not to heat up the house). This was the building that we used to sell our beef out of before. Now this summer kitchen will be set up to offer kitchen items and some collectible kitchen items for sale, too.