[2] Originally 50 acres (20 ha) of cornfield, the land was purchased in the 1890s by Magnus Swenson (1854-1936), a Norwegian who immigrated to America at age 14, and made his way from working as a blacksmith's helper to a career as a chemical engineer, an internationally known inventor, businessman and humanitarian.

Among his many achievements, Swenson patented over 200 machines and processes, built hydroelectric dams on the Wisconsin River, and founded the Norwegian-American Steamship Lines.

[3][4][5] Magnus Swenson named the property “Thorstrand” (which means “Thor’s Beach” in Norwegian) after the place where he grew up in Norway.

After Mary Swenson North died in 1977, the remaining 15.29 acre estate was sold to the City of Madison in 1978, to be preserved as an addition to “Marshall Park”, for use as a passive recreation area.

In 2011, Mary North O’Hare died, and at the time of this writing, (September 2018) the home had just been put on the market for sale.