By Mollee Francisco

Signs of rapid growth abound at nearly every turn in eastern Carver County. There are new highways, new businesses and new neighborhoods popping up all over the place. But amid all that is new, concerns increase about the preservation of the county's historic places.

Last week, such concerns landed two Carver County locations on the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota's list of the state's "10 Most Endangered Historic Places."

Each year the Preservation Alliance selects 10 places for inclusion on its list, based on the level and kind of threat to the location, said Bonnie McDonald, executive director.

This year, the Gehl-Mittelsted House in San Francisco Township, and the Andrew Peterson Farmstead just outside of Waconia, made the list.

The latter was especially good news to Leanne Brown, executive director of the Carver County Historical Society.

"This isn't your average farmstead," she said. "Peterson farms are not a dime a dozen."

Dennis Gimmestad, with the State Historic Preservation Office, would say the same for the Gehl-Mittelsted House.

Preservation of the Andrew Peterson Farmstead, located east of Waconia off of Highway 5 on Parley Lake Road, has attracted the interest of a variety of parties, from the Carver County Historical Society to the Committee of Waconia Heritage Association to the Andrew Peterson Society in Sweden.

"It tells a greater story about the heavy immigration in this part of the country," said Brown.

Andrew Peterson emigrated from the highlands in southern Sweden to the United States in 1850. Five years later, he settled in Minnesota on land in the now-extinct Scandia near Clearwater Lake (now Lake Waconia).

For 44 years, from just prior to moving to his farm, to days before his death, Peterson kept journals, recording various aspects of his daily life. The journals detail activities ranging from constructing his farm buildings and slaughtering pigs to transporting manure and Indian uprisings.

Those 10 volumes, with more than 14,000 entries, were eventually happened upon by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg, who used material from the journals to write a well-known series of novels about the Swedish emigrant experience. Many have likened Moberg's main character Karl (Charles) Oskar to Andrew Peterson.

"Moberg's absolute most important source was Andrew Peterson's diary, letters and surroundings," wrote Jan Hermelin of the Andrew Peterson Society in an e-mail. The Andrew Peterson Society is a volunteer organization based in Sweden that aims to "increase the awareness of the significance of emigration for the development of society and work towards bringing to life the memory of Andrew Peterson and his achievements and the times in which he lived."

One of their methods of doing such is to "preserve and care for the environment, buildings and documents pertaining to Andrew Peterson and the time in which he lived." That includes both Peterson's journals and Moberg's novels.

"Those novels are very famous in Sweden and also in the U.S.," said Hermelin.

"Moberg's books on emigrants are right up there with (the musical group) ABBA in Sweden," agreed Brown.

The books inspired films and musicals, including a musical created by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA. That musical, called "Kristina from Duvemala," will debut on Broadway next year. The Andrew Peterson Society is also working on its own musical to honor Andrew Peterson's life.

"It is, of course, important for us to save the memory of Andrew Peterson, including his buildings because he was the original of Vilhelm Moberg's hero Charles Oskar," wrote Hermelin.

The Andrew Peterson Farmstead is composed of nine buildings, including the farmhouse, constructed between 1867 and 1870, two barns, a log house used as a granary, and a smoke house.

The majority of the historic buildings are located on a 20-acre plot of land owned by brothers Wade and Rich Holasek.

Wade Holasek did not return the Herald's calls for comment, but according to a 2005 Herald interview with Holasek, several of the buildings are in dire need of repair and maintenance.

"There's been little to no maintenance for nearly 25 years," he noted at the time. "There's a big hole in the roof of the granary, and holes in the roofs of the other buildings, too."

Holasek has begun doing some of the work himself, but estimates that it could take up to $100,000 to complete the careful restoration process.

"It's a neat thing to have so close to home," said Brown. "But it's not going to stay there on its own."

In 2004, the Holaseks sold 50 acres north of the farm to developers, causing concern among interested preservationists.

"This is dead center for development," said Brown. "The property has a big target on it."

It was that sale that prompted the Carver County Historical Society to break tradition of not getting involved with privately owned properties. The Historical Society prepared and submitted the Andrew Peterson Farmstead for consideration on the Preservation Alliance's endangered places list.

"It's time that there be a little more discussion on it," said Brown.

"The number of true jewels that have the significance of this are limited. We need to keep it as a community treasure for years to come."

Jo Mihelich couldn't agree more. She spent seven years researching and writing a book on Andrew Peterson and the Scandia area he settled in.

"Not a day goes by since the bicentennial that I'm not involved in the history of this area," she said.

Mihelich sits on the Committee of Waconia Heritage Association, and has long advocated for the Peterson farm to be preserved for community benefit.

"It needs to be open to nonprofit organizations to use for festivals, school groups, youth groups, etc. for all perpetuity," she said. "And we need that in writing. We can't have just a handshake."

"Sometimes you have to draw a line in the sand and say we need to find a solution and not just let market forces play out," added Brown.

But according to Holasek, he has no plans to sell the historic plot just yet.

"I know that the heritage society would like to see a learning center created here sometime in the future," he said, in an earlier interview. "I don't have a problem with that and would be willing to consider those possibilities later. My grandfather still lives on the property, and, for now, I am planning to keep the farm going."

Gehl-Mittelsted

While the Andrew Peterson Farmstead is threatened by the rapid development along Highway 5, the Gehl-Mittelsted House is safely tucked away on refuge lands along the Minnesota River.

Sitting high on a sharp bend in the river, the 120-year-old Chaska brick farmhouse enjoys a breathtaking view of the surrounding lands.

"It's a splendid property," said Susan Roth, with the State Historic Preservation Office.

According to the Minnesota Historical Society, the house was built in the 1880s for a prosperous German immigrant farming family. Henry Gehl owned successful meat markets around the Twin Cities including ones in Chaska and Carver.

His two-and-a-half-story-tall house in San Francisco Township is considered to be done in Carver County cottage style. It had a basement, large kitchen with pantry and milk room, a front and rear parlor (the front was known as the "coffin room"), a study, dining room and four bedrooms. The house still contains much of the original millwork and hardware.

It also features a matching brick outhouse on the edge of the steep riverbank. After being inhabited by the Gehl family and its descendents for more than 100 years, the Gehl-Mittelsted House was sold to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services in 1995 to be incorporated into the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

According to the Minnesota Historical Society, at the time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife announced its intention of converting the house to an education center for the refuge. But the fate of the house was later brought into question because of its close position to the river.

According to the Preservation Alliance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife has a policy that "no structures can be built or maintained in a flood plain."

The Gehl-Mittelsted House has flooded twice in the last century.

"Both times the water only reached to just below the floor joists," pointed out McDonald. "Can you really call that flooding?"

Refuge managers did not return the Herald's calls for comment but, according to the Preservation Alliance, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services does not have a use for the old home. They now intend to build a new visitor center adjacent to the house.

"The real challenge will be how the house can be used to fit in with the overall U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services plan," said Gimmested.

When interviewed by the Herald in August 2005, assistant refuge manager Thomas Kerr said that "all options will be examined" for the house but added that it would take plenty of "money and expertise" to move it.

Meanwhile, time is not on the side of the Gehl-Mittelsted house.

"Anytime a historic property is out of use, it becomes vulnerable," said Gimmested.

Successes

According to McDonald, once the Preservation Alliance commits to furthering the preservation of properties by placing them on its list, they work with advocacy groups to find avenues for fundraising and write letters of support as needed.

Since starting their list of endangered properties in 1992, the Preservation Alliance has brought awareness to 113 historic locations.

Of those, McDonald said that 44 have been saved for sure. Fourteen locations have been demolished. The fate of the other 55 has not yet been determined.

Carver County has already been witness to one of those success stories. Last year, Norwood Young America's pavilion made the Preservation Alliance's list of endangered properties. This year, the pavilion didn't make the list and for good reason.

"They just had their opening of their renovated and saved building last week," noted Brown.