Halvor Rue came to Barnes County from Menomonie, Wisconsin in 1878 and homesteaded on Sand Prairie on Section 31, in Oak Hill Township. His parents had migrated from Ostadlen, Norway.

On his homestead he built a sod house and also a sod barn. Here he lived and worked until 1886 when he married Lena Reiten. Halvor and Lena then lived on this farm for many years, raising six children as follows: Carl, who never married; Hanna, married to Ole Graalum; Thomas, who lives in Argyle, Minnesota; Minnie, who married Peter Strand and is living in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Harry, who never married, and Lily, who married Selmer Nelson.

Selmer Nelson came to Barnes County from Milford, Iowa in 1915. He came as many did, in an emigrant car with his horses and machinery. He was born September 14th, 1890.- Lily Rue Nelson was born July 5, 1896. This couple has lived on this farm for fifty-one years.

Carl, Hanna and Harry, children of Halvor and Lena Rue have passed away. Halvor died on April 14, 1918. Lena Rue had passed away in August of 1911.

Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 210