The main house and the barn have burnt on a number of occasions, the last time at the end of the 18th century.

In the barn the construction of the cowshed is cogged joint, so called “kamlaft”. This part of the building was constructed in the last part of the eighteen hundreds. It was altered into an assembly room in 2004. The barn was constructed in the nineteen thirties, but there are still remnants from the barn which was constructed after the fire in 1730.

The farm’s name originates from the site of the original farmyard: on and edge jutting out into and old backwater or eddy in the Gvarv river. The original farm was probably cleared during the Neolithic period about 4 000 B. C.

Up until the end of the 18th century the farm belonged to a noble family of Icelandic descent: The Gloer family. They were knights, law officers and regional commissioners.

From 1804 Mr. Johannes Halvorsen Evju owned the farm. He was a man of the Enlightenment, a rationalist and the local mayor from 1840. In 1849 he deeded the farm to his son-in-law Mr. Jon Jonsson for 900 Daler (i.e. Norwegian Dollars) On his death in 1887 the Innistugu was conveyed to his daughter Ingeborg. In 1864 she had married widower Mr. Johannes Gregarson of the Eika farm in Bø.

Her son Jon Johanneson Evju inherited the farm. He married Ms Bergit Anundsdotter from Søndre Dyrud farm. Soon after their wedding they emigrated to the USA and stayed for six years in Seattle. Jon earned his living as a craftsman, carpenter and blacksmith and his skills are still traceable in the current buildings and their furnisgings. When Jon and Birgit returned from the USA in 1896 they at once began to repair and renovate the old farm buildings. Although they were inspired by the neo-Norse architectural style fashionable at the time, Jon nevertheless added what he had seen and learnt in the USA. Mr. Halvard Evju has made the interior.

Dei gamle husa på Innistugu Evju, teikna av John Lindheim.
Jon Evju (1896-1975) inherited the farm from his brother Johannes (1887-1980) in 1951. Jon was a local schoolteacher for a generation. His mother aroused his interest for folk tune, ballads, tales and stories as well as local arts and crafts. For many years he was a keen supporter of the Nes Folk Dance Group. He collected all forms of art and was highly interested in keeping up the old local culture.

Teikning av Jon Evju (1896 - 1975).
Teikna av Jon Lindheim i 1968

The Evju Family was very engaged in folkways, local traditions and folklore. Legacy to bygone days marks the buildings and collections in many different ways.

Evju Bygdetun possesses an exclusive collection of needlework and other handwork handed down from Helga Evju (1894- 1947). She experimented on many different techniques, but “sprang” was her favourite. She had learned this technique at Statens Kvindelige Kunstindustriskole in Oslo (The State College of Applied Arts and Crafts for Women), where she for a year (1927-1928) attended a course in embroidery and lacework. “Sprang” or “bregding” or braiding is an ancient technique, actually it is the oldest handicraft technique known as “truly Norwegian”.