Iver Halvorson Kanten was born in Gran, Hadeland, Norway on 15 Feb 1825.  He was educated (learned the tailor's trade), grew to adulthood and married in Norway.  He married Anne Gulbrandsdtr Hilden.  They came to the United States in June 1864 and made their home with an uncle, John Thingelstad, in Winona County, MN, for two years then moving to Fillmore County, MN, where they lived until 1869 when they moved to Tunsberg Township, Chippewa County, MN.  The first settlement in Chippewa County was in 1865.  They homesteaded 80 acres of land in Tunsberg Township section 20, one mile west of Watson, MN.  It was on this land that they constructed a dug out in which the family live for some time before a substantial farm home was built.  These dug outs were mainly plain dirt cellars with a pole, brush, hay or sod roof, a small window or two and a door fashioned of split logs.  The dug out was followed by a log house built in about 1870.  THis log cabin with additions and improvements was used by various owners until 1964, when a new house was built by the present owners, the Earl Ostlies.  The Yellow Medicine County Historical Society acquired the log cabin, which is well preserved, having been made of heavy oak logs.  The log cabin is now furnished as a pioneer church and is on the Historical society's exhibit area near Granite Falls, MN.   As lumber became more readily available and it not have to be hauled from New Ulm, Litchfield, or Benson, small frame homes were built by the settlers. Iver and Anne worked hard and in time had a good farm developed from the wild prairie sod.  The prospered and became the owners of 352 acres and here they spent the rest of their lives.  They assisted in the [founding] of the Zion Church northwest of Watson.  Iver H. and his oldest son, Hans, were on the building committee in 1875 and 1876 when the congregation was being organized and the church built.  Iver H. was one of the early treasurers of the new congregation.  He also was in charge of the loading of the lumber that was hauled from Benson.  The Zion Ladies Society Constitution was adopted at a meeting at their home in 1885.   Iver's first vote was cast for General U.S. Grant for President.  The Kanten's were active in all local, social and religious activities of the community.  Iver took much interest in all civic matters and did much in the way of development and growth of the township and county in which they lived.  School district No. 14, which comprised Watson and the surrounding country-side, was organized in Jan 1871.  Before any school house was built, school was held in various places including the log cabin owned by Iver ( now on the farm owned by Earl Ostlie-1981).  School was held in a semi-dug out log cabin near the Albert Adamson farm and later on the farm now lived on by the Paul Dvergsten's-1981.  In 1876, a school building was erected on the southeast corner of section 28, a mile west of Watson.  In the early 1880's this school house was moved into the town of Watson and Jacob O. Haugland was the first teacher after it was moved.  a story has been told of two early Watson school teachers:- It seems that the lady teacher had an unrequited love for the male professor.  He roomed at Herman Iverson's, so she rented a room at the Iverson's before arriving to start her school term, only to find that when she arrived it was the wrong Iverson where she had rented the room (Gulbrand instead of Herman.)   Iver Kanten died in 1910 at the age of 85. Anne Hilden Kanten died in 1908 at the age of 82.   Kanten was the 'gaardnavn' (farm name) in Norway.  All the members of the Iver H. Kanten family used the surname of Iverson except Christian who lived in Big Bend Township, Milan, MN (although he also used Iverson for several years as some of his children's birth records are recorded as Iverson) and Andrew who moved to Canada.