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Pehr August Peterson, who at one time was known as the "Furniture King,” was born in Sweden and moved to Rockford at the age of six. He worked in Wisconsin in lumber camps and saw mills, and then briefly as a teamster and later bookkeeper in Chicago. In 1875, he returned to Rockford and began his career in the growing furniture industry. At the age of 30, he helped found the Union Furniture Company and went on to acquire interest in other furniture companies. He died in 1927, at the age of 81, a multi-millionaire.

Upon his death, he bequeathed $500,000 to build a home “for aged people.” In his will, he named a board of trustees to choose a parcel of land that would be developed to provide a place for elder people of Swedish ancestry to live.

P.A. Peterson was built and opened in 1941 as a “house” of 12 rooms for those needing care. To live at P.A. Peterson, individuals would have to donate their assets to the home, and, in turn, the facility would take care of all of their expenses – including burial – until they died.

Under the Tax Reform Act of the mid-1970s, it was determined that P.A. Peterson could no longer be considered a not-for-profit. As a result, it was decided to turn over the facility to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), because of LSSI’s reputation for delivering excellent services to all people.

LSSI continues Pehr’s mission of caring for others and in the late 1970s expanded the facility to include intermediate care and sheltered care rooms. Since then, there have been numerous renovations and restructuring to keep up with the community’s needs.

P.A. Peterson and LSSI continue to carry out the mission of providing healing, justice and wholeness to people and communities.