Ole Carlson House

Ole Carlson House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city:	Kasson, Minnesota
Coordinates:	43°57′16″N 92°41′52″W / 43.95444°N 92.69778°W / 43.95444; -92.69778Coordinates: 43°57′16″N 92°41′52″W / 43.95444°N 92.69778°W / 43.95444; -92.69778
Area:	less than one acre
Built:	1880
Architect:	Aasved, Ole Anderson
Governing body:	Private
MPS:	Dodge County MRA
NRHP Reference#:	82002944[1]
Added to NRHP:	April 16, 1982

The Ole Carlson House is a historic farmhouse in Dodge County, Minnesota; located in Canisteo Township, it is approximately 8 miles (13 km) from Kasson, Minnesota. The private home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 16, 1982. The structure was built by Ole Anderson Aasved, a self-educated Norwegian farmer who found prosperity in the American Upper Midwest.

Structure

The Ole Carlson House, not long after its construction. Note the existence of balustrade and lack of plantings.

The Ole Carlson House is located on County Road 15, south of Kasson in Dodge County, Minnesota. Its location on a slight elevation makes the structure very visible. The house is a large, two-story, almost square brick structure, symmetrical in arrangement with a hip roof and roof deck, with a projecting central gabled pavilion. At the time the home was completed, it had a balustrade along the edge of the roof deck, however it is no longer present. In addition to the main house, a small one-story brick addition on the eastern side (rear) houses a summer kitchen.^[2]

The design includes elements reminiscent of the Italianate style, which are often found in rural Minnesota farmhouses of the era and used to emphasize verticality. These elements include two-over-two double-hung sash windows in tall rectangular openings with keystone segmental-arch hoods, and the hooded double front entrance. Unlike similar houses, conventional eave brackets were never applied to the house.^[2]

The south foundation includes a datestone with the designer's name "O. A. Aasved" as well as the date "1880".^[2]

History

Ole Anderson Aasved was born in March 1826 near Trondheim, Norway. Raised on a farm, he had almost no formal education, but he sought to educate himself. Aasved was married several times. He married Christiana Anderson in 1849, and the couple had one child, Christiana (later Mrs. Martin Peterson), before his wife died in 1854. Aasved moved to the United States in 1857, and in 1860 he married fellow Norwegian native Ingred Alexson; they had one daughter, Anna, before Alexson died in 1869. He worked in logging Michigan before settling in Minnesota. In 1865 he enlisted in the 2nd Minnesota Volunteer Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army, but saw no active service and was discharged in the same year.^[3]

The 1905 plat map of the "Ole Karlson" properties and their acreage in the township. The small black box shows the location of the house.

In Minnesota, Aasved accumulated 220 acres (89 ha) of land in adjacent 140 acres (57 ha) and 80 acres (32 ha) parcels. Aasved finished the house in 1882 at a cost of $3,000. In 1883 he married a third time, to fellow Norwegian Benedicka Hanson.^[3]

By 1981, the home remained in the hands of the great-grandson of its original owner.^[2]

Significance

The Ole Carlson House was selected for placement on the NRHP based on its significance to the agricultural history of the Upper Midwest, its own unique architecture, and as an example of the ethnic settlements of early Norwegian Americans. The owner/builder represents the rural Norwegian heritage of the area. A county history of 1884 declared that the house was "the best farm house in the county."^[2]

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Robert M. Frame III, Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form, June 5, 1981.
3. ^ ^{a b} H.A. Smith, The History of Winona, Olmsted and Dodge County, H.H. Hill and Company, p. 1104.