Once Upon a Farm - Solberg homestead in Benson county ND Acrylic Print

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According to a 1910 plat map, this location in Benson County was settled by a Norwegian farmer named Ole Solberg (I don’t know his wife’s name). Their son, Clarence, and his wife Estrella occupied it after Ole. The house, barn, and out-buildings were probably built around 1900, but I'm not sure of the history in that regard. One of the photos posted is a name (O. Solberg) carved into a board inside the large barn so this matches the plat map information. Interestingly, the barn loft is still piled high with hay, and is home to a resident owl(s) and a thousand mice! I have shot the location on many occasions, and here is a batch from most recent visit in May, along with a few of of my favorites from prior visits/years. Sadly the house has been badly vandalized - all windows broken, etc. which greatly accelerates its decay. Also, the south foundation has collapsed inward several feet, leaving a large span of main floor unsupported, which does not bode well for this grand old...

Peter Herman was born and raised on a farm in North Dakota. He first became interested in photography during high-school, and after acquiring a Pentax SLR, began taking photos for the school yearbook and developing/printing B&W images in school darkroom. He continued shooting through college, taking portraits, group pictures, weddings, but after beginning his engineering career at Cummins, he let his photography interests go dormant until about 2005 when he acquired his first DSLR and started shooting scenic landscapes from around the US, but concentrating especially on rural areas in ND and WI. Many of his images were encountered while riding motorcycle down random backroads during "golden hour", searching for that magic light...