The Meeting House

Early clergyman would travel from town to town. They would stay at settlers' homes and preach, perform baptisms and marriages. One of the houses these clergyman stayed in was the house of Peter Johnson Urberg. This house was built in 1877 in the township of Maple Grove (now known as Prairie Lake).

This log house is 17'x25'. The construction of the cabin is known as chamfer and notch. The tools used were a maul, mortise, an axe, and a saw.
In 1922 the farm was sold to Elmer Holmstrand. He took the building apart, then put it back together at the Pokegama Inn Resort, in Chetek, Wisconsin. Roger Hamholm of Pokegama Inn donated the building to the museum in February 1975.

ABOUT THE FAMILY
Peter Johnson Urberg was born in Kragro, Norway on January 12,1846. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jorgen Olson Urberg. As a young adult he took care of his parents, his crippled brother, and their farm. In1866 Peter married Aase Helen Jenson, who was born on May 2, 1843 in Frovig, Norway. In 1867 the Johnson's moved to the United States. They first lived in Detroit, Michigan, and later moved to Kilbourn, Columbia County, Wisconsin, now known as Wisconsin Dells, where they bought a farm. The soil was too poor to make a living, so Peter went out as a raftsman , while his family took over the farm. In 1877 they sold the farm and Peter went to look at land in Barron County. He bought 80 acres of land for $200 from the Railroad Company. He cleaned a little area of land to build a log cabin. His family was able to live in it in the fall of 1877. His wife died at the age of 41 in 1844. Peter Johnson died at the age of 75 in 1922.

Peter Johnson has a number of grandchildren who still live in Chetek, Wisconsin:

Gustave Johnson	George Johnson
Lawrence Johnson	Mabel Hanson
Morris Olson	Norman Swanson
Victor Swanson	Florence Haugen

NEXT►

Pioneer Village Museum PO Box 242 Cameron, WI 54822
715-458-2080 (museum) or 715-642-1327 (cell)
Website Designed and Hosted By DCS Netlink