Niels Petersen House

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The Niels Petersen House is a local historic landmark in Tempe, Arizona, that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is an example of Queen Anne Style brick architecture in the Salt River Valley.Biography of Niels PetersenNiels Petersen was born on October 21, 1845, to Peder Mikkelsen and Gunder Marie Nisdatter in Vilslev, Denmark, a small farming village in the southwestern portion of that country. Petersen spent several years in the English Merchant Marines, beginning in 1863, allowing him to travel the world. He continued in this stead until 1870, when he immigrated to the United States.In 1871, Petersen arrived in the Salt River Valley of central Arizona, where he decided to stake a homestead claim and begin farming. He filed a declaratory statement on July 1, 1874, claiming 160acre in section 29, southwest of Tempe (the original homestead is currently bordered by Priest, southern, Alameda and 52nd Streets). After submitting his claim, Petersen began work on the construction of a two-room adobe house. Four years later, in 1878, Petersen became a United States citizen and subsequently filed a homestead entry, the next step in permanently establishing himself in the valley. The final action in this process was the filing of a homestead proof, providing evidence that improvements to the land had been made by the claimant, which Petersen filed on May 12, 1883. By the time of his final homestead filing, Petersen had built two small adobe houses on the property and maintained 140acre in cultivation.

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