August Ostlund and Margaret Ostlund were born and married in Sweden. In 1881, August immigrated to Minneapolis and sent for his wife and five daughters whose journey by ship in 1883 took one month to complete. Two more children were born in Minneapolis. The only son Charles was born in 1884. In 1892, the Ostlunds moved to Crow Wing County where August worked at logging for Simpson and Brolin. He purchased land at the South end of Cross Lake. August and his son Charles cleared 100 acres by hand and built their log home and other outbuildings.
The original hand-hewn log home was discovered in 1986 by Doug Birk, an archaeologist who was studying and researching Indian mounds in the Crosslake Area. It was scheduled for a practice burn by the Crosslake Fire Department. The building was saved by the Historical Society and moved to the Village Site!
Volunteers restored the building and furnished it as it might have been when the Ostlunds called it home. It was dedicated in 1991. Visitors to the Historic Village are always impressed with the fact that the Ostlund log cabin was home to this large family, parents and seven children. Descendants of the original family are active and work as volunteers at the Historic Log Village.
