In 2003, the Ilomantsi Museum Association rented the farm and restored the main building to its original condition. Makkola exudes history and has some extraordinary stories to tell. An interesting narrative is about the legendary soldier Lauri Törni and one of his subordinates, future President of Finland, Mauno Koivisto, who billeted here during the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944. 

Makkola is located in the outskirts of the village centre. The first troops arrived there in July 1944 in preparation for a Red Army assault on Hattuvaara. The first engagement occurred on 29 July when Finnish Border Jaegers in the Orthodox chapel tower spotted an enemy force approaching the village.

They opened fire on the Russians, who quickly withdrew to the far bank of the Sikrenpuro brook. At 02:00 the following morning, the opening shots of the fierce battle of Hattuvaara were fired behind Sikrenpuro. 

In August 1944, Lieutenant Törni's company was moved from Tolvajärvi to Ilomantsi for a two-week period. During this time, it carried out hit-and-run attacks and escorted prisoners of war across practically the full width of Ilomantsi sector. The company was active primarily in the tree-choked wilderness along the roads that led toward the Russian border. For this reason, contemporary war diaries do not suggest that Törni actually visited Hattuvaara. Only after the end of the war did Törni’s unit, now under his command as a Captain, return to Ilomantsi. They arrived in Hattuvaara on 6 October 1944 and set up billets on Makkola farm. 

The unit conducted border patrols and observed the stabilisation of the situation in the area for a period of one and a half weeks until they relocated to Mekrijärvi on 16 October. 

Makkola houses a display on Törni’s life. The museum has no fixed opening hours, but visitors may inquire about them at Combatant's House.