Peter Gunderson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gunder Enerson, was born October 15, 1860 in Veron County, Wisconsin. Viroqua was their closest town, which was one store and the post office.

Peter and his brother, Ed, left Minnesota in 1881 because of hard times, the insects destroyed what little crop they raised. Another reason for coming to North Dakota was the land available for homesteads.

They started out on their trip with a team of horses and a covered wagon. At Fergus Falls, Minnesota they traded their team of horses for a yoke of oxen. When they reached Fargo they crossed the river on a raft, then drove to Mayville and then on to the Sheyenne River. Peter Gunderson homesteaded 14 miles north of Cooperstown in Lenora Township.

Mr. Gunderson's farming equipment consisted of a walking plow, smoothing drag and a broadcast seeder drill. The first crop raised yielded 25 bushels per acre, a total of 150 bushels of wheat. Reier Anderson threshed the grain with a horsepower thresher.

There were many blizzards the first three winters. In January of one year they had to get out in the cold and fight a prairie fire.

In 1883, Peter Gunderson married Annie Koloen. They had three children:

Mable, Henry and Alfred. Mrs. Gunderson died in 1892.

In 1903 Annie Groff and Peter Gunderson were married. To this union seven children were born:

Gilbert, Julia, Palmer, Adolph, Edwin, Esther and Minnie. Annie Gunderson died in 1943 and Peter Gunderson died in 1944.

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 339