Knut S. Moen was born at Hallingdal, Norway on March 27, 1849. He was the son of Sever and Bergat Moen. Knut married Sissel Odegaard in Norway in 1872. There were eight children born to this union, three were born in Norway and five in North Dakota. A son, Carl, the only survivor, resides in Tacoma, Washington. Knut Moen immigrated to America in 1881 coming to Hillsboro, North Dakota. He chose North Dakota because of the free homesteads, and it offered great opportunities for a person with small financial means. His wife and children stayed at Hillsboro with relatives while Mr. Moen came to Griggs County in the spring of 1882 and homesteaded on the SE quarter of Section 18, Lenora Township.

Their first home was a one-room frame house (12X14) partly sodded on the outside. They lived there for seven years and all the while had crop failures due to drought and sometimes frost. Mr. Moen walked to Hillsboro, North Dakota and worked through harvest and threshing to make money for food and clothing for his family. Their fuel was wood, which was bought from homesteaders living near the Sheyenne River. Trees were chopped down, hauled home, then sawed and chopped for wood. They were endangered by several prairie fires but each time were able to save the buildings and property.

In 1889, Mrs. Moen inherited her father's homestead in SW quarter of Section 3, Lenora Township. The family moved to this location living there until 1908 when they moved to Aneta, North Dakota. Knut Moen died in 1926 and Mrs. Moen died in 1932.

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 341