[2] It is named for the Hovander family, who immigrated from Sweden to the property in 1898 and designed the farmhouse, barn, and other buildings, some of which include distinctive architectural features.

[3] Hokan (also spelled Hakan and Holan in various sources) Hovander, an immigrant from Skåne, Sweden, moved to the Pacific Northwest with his wife Louisa Leontine Johansdatter Lof and several children in 1897.

[9] Hovander, an architect and bricklayer, initially settled in Seattle but later moved to Ferndale with his family to farm the land.

[10] He arrived in Ferndale in 1898 and paid $4,000 ($146,496 in 2018) for 60 acres (24 ha) on the Nooksack River that was purchased from Betsey Nielson.

[12] In June 1899, Hovander finished his plan for the house and ordered 52,000 board feet of fir and cedar.

Hovander painted the barn with a mixture of oil and iron rich soil which oxidized to a dull red, a practice that reportedly originated in Scandinavia.

[23] The Hovander Homestead is built on the Nooksack River's flood lands and Hokan had to account for the natural landscape by building the barn and the house on raised platforms.

[29] Not long after arriving in Ferndale, Hovander began building a Holstein dairy herd from the 12 cows that came with the homestead.

[2] A support organization, Friends of Tennant Lake and Hovander Homestead Park, has been formed to maintain the area.

Wildlife using the lake as a habitat includes bald eagles, coots, ospreys, swallows, ducks and great blue herons.

[3][8] A trail along the river between Hovander Homestead Park and Tennant Lake provides views of Mount Baker.