History:

Immigrating from Oslo, Norway, Jacob and Maren Brensetre had the original farm homestead back in 1848. Their son Ole adopted “Jacobson” as his American name and after serving in the civil war built a farmhouse around 1865, which has been in the family for six generations. One of the first things they built on the homestead was a brick smokehouse that is still standing today. It was a vital part of farm life where neighbors helped each other by getting together and butchering their hogs. Using cast iron kettles filled with 157 degree water they cleaned and repurposed almost every part of the hog. Those antique cast iron kettles can be seen today peppered around the flower garden near the historic farmhouse. The smokehouse had a slow-burning fire that added the distinct hickory smoke flavor to the sausages, hams and bacons as a way of preserving them. The historic smokehouse stands as a landmark and symbol of Ole Jacobson’s life vision that he has passed down from generation to generation.