With 16 historic buildings in its main complex, which occupies most of a square block in downtown Decorah, and two National Register historic sites a farmstead and country church just outside the city, Vesterheim is the largest, most comprehensive museum in the United States dedicated to a single immigrant group. Though Norwegian-American, Vesterheim reflects the story of an entire immigrant nation pioneering its future. The museum houses over 21,000 artifacts, including large samplings from the fine, decorative, and folk arts, and the tools and machinery of early agriculture, lumbering, and other immigrant industries.
