Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum - Egge-Koren House

Egge-Koren House

Erik Egge built this house in 1852 on his farm five miles southeast of Decorah. In July 1853, he married Helen Pedersdatter, a widow with two small children. From December 1853 to March 1854, the newlyweds, Rev. U. Vilhelm Koren and his wife Elisabeth, lived with the Egges. Ulrik Vilhelm Koren was a pioneer Lutheran minister, who played a significant role in the development of the spiritual and intellectual development of Norwegians in America. Koren played an active part in the Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, holding various including president of the synod from 1894 until his death in 1910. Elisabeth Koren was an author of The Diary of Elisabeth Koren, 1853-1855 which provides detailed insight into what it was like for four adults and two children to spend the winter in a one-room 14-by-16-foot log house.