Thorstein Veblen Farmstead

Infobox_nrhp | name =Thorstein Veblen Farmstead
nrhp_type =nhl

---

caption = By 1987 the home was abandoned
location= Nerstrand, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 44
lat_minutes = 20
lat_seconds = 50
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93
long_minutes = 03
long_seconds = 10
long_direction = W
locmapin = Minnesota
area =
built =1867-1870cite web| title =Historic American Buildings Survey| publisher =Library of Congress| url =http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?pp/hh:@field(SUBJ+@od1(MINNESOTA--Rice+County--Nerstrand+vicinity))| accessdate =2007-11-02]
architect=
architecture=Second Empire
designated = December 21, 1981
added = June 30, 1975
governing_body =private
refnum=75001024cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-10-31|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] [cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MN/Rice/state.html|title=National Register of Historic Places|date=2007-10-31|publisher=National Park Service]

Thorstein B. Veblen (1857-1929), economist, social scientist, and critic of American culture, lived on this farm as a youth and returned often as an adult. The product of an austere agrarian upbringing, Veblen has often been called one of America's most creative and original thinkers. [cite web| title =Thorstein Veblen Farmstead| work =National Historic Landmarks Program| publisher =National Park Service| url =http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail2.cfm?ResourceId=1543&Date=&Ownership=Private&priorityname=&ResourceType=Building| accessdate =2007-10-01] He coined the term "conspicuous consumption." The property's simple vernacular styling illustrates early influences on Veblen's life as the son of immigrants, growing up in a tightly knit Norwegian-American community. His book, "Theory of the Leisure Class" is distinguished by economic, social, and literary scholars.

The house and farm buildings were built by his parents, Thomas and Kari Veblen, and he lived there as a teenager. The Veblens sold the property in 1893 and it continued to be an active farm until 1970, when the buildings fell into disrepair. The house has now been meticulously restored and the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota holds a preservation easement on the property. [cite web| title =Restoring a national historic landmark| work =Benchmarks in Minnesota's Historic Preservation| publisher =Minnesota Historical Society| url =http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/shpo/veblen.html| accessdate =2007-11-02]

The house is a National Historic Landmarkcitation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/75001024.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Thorstein Veblen Farmstead] |733 KB|author=James Sheire |date=May 21, 1981 |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/75001024.pdf Accompanying 4 images taken in 1971] |2.33 MB]

References

External links

[http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1543&ResourceType=Building NHL Summary]