By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Situated in the northeast section of Underwood is the Foss Log Cabin, named after Ole and Anne Foss who homesteaded in 1869. The cabin is located on the corner of a residential neighborhood and serves as a reminder of the pioneer spirit in this area of Otter Tail County.

Homesteaders chose this heavily wooded area for their homes. From their humble log dwellings, the whistle of the train was heard starting in 1881. This was the beginning of a very busy little town, which we know today as Underwood.

The Underwood Women’s Study Club has maintained the cabin, now city owned, for many years. Over the years volunteers, during special occasions while wearing pioneer clothing at the cabin, have hosted fiddle music and craft demonstrations.

The Women’s Study Club took the lead in restoring the cabin with a completion date in 1981, in time for Underwood’s 100th anniversary. Today the cabin is often visited by children from area schools who go there for field trips. Volunteers decorate the cabin each year as part of the Underwood Harvest Festival.

And while many people visit the cabin during the summer months, the winter months give people the opportunity to snap a photo of the cabin, part of a picturesque setting. 

Over the years the Foss cabin has also been renovated by Green Thumb members and Sentence to Serve personnel. The cabin was officially dedicated during the Underwood centennial celebration, in 1981.

Delores Peterson, one of the care takers of the Foss cabin, said that Underwood High School Interact Students welcomed visitors prior to this year’s Underwood Harvest Festival parade. 

“The Underwood Woman’s Study Club encourages young people to learn about their community history,” she said.

The City of Underwood takes pride in acknowledging the Foss Log Cabin being placed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is the only building in Underwood to receive this designation.