Established | 1967 |
---|---|
Location | 115 100th Street SE, Granite Falls, Minnesota 56241 |
Type | Local History |
Executive director | Celeste Suter |
Website | chippewacohistory.org |
Olof Swensson Farm | |
Location | 115 100th Street SE, Granite Falls, Minnesota 56241 |
---|---|
Coordinates | 44°52′43″N95°35′33″W / 44.878568°N 95.592478°W |
Area | 17 acres (6.9 ha) |
Built | 1901-1903 |
Architect | Olof Swensson |
Architectural style | Italianate, Georgian |
NRHP reference No. | 74001010 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 30, 1974 |
The Swensson Farm Museum is a historic farmstead located in Chippewa County, Minnesota, six miles (10 km) east of Montevideo. Established by Norwegian immigrants Olof and Ingeborg Swensson in the 1880s, the farmstead today serves as open-air museum operated by the Chippewa County Historical Society showcasing pioneer life and Swedish-American heritage. [2]
The centerpiece of the museum is a grand 22-room brick farmhouse built around the turn of the 20th century. Swensson called it the "Governor's Mansion on the Prairie." [3] Inside, visitors can explore a self-guided tour that goes into the Swensson family life. The rooms feature original furnishings and personal belongings, showing domestic life on a late 19th-century farm. [4]
One unique feature of the farmhouse is a 38x38 foot chapel located on the second floor. This reflected his deep religious faith. Swensson who held strong convictions that religious denominations were not adhering faithfully to their doctrines took on the role of a lay minister and delivered his own sermons in response. [5] At first, his family and friends attended the chapel for worship services with Olof. However, over time, they gradually lost interest and stopped attending. This could have been due to the lengthy services and Olof's unique way of conducting them, known to historians as "Olofisms." [4] In the basement, the house contains designated areas were allocated for metalworking, woodworking, harness and blacksmithing, along with a room for agriculture and a fruit cellar. [3]
Another significant structure on the farmstead is the large timber-framed barn, constructed in the 1880s. The barn has undergone extensive restoration and exemplifies the craftsmanship and resourcefulness of Swensson. The intricate wind-bracing and notching system testifies to his skills as a builder and designer. [5]
The grounds also include the remains of a grist mill that Swensson constructed on his property, aiming to outcompete a rival in Granite Falls, Minnesota which happened to be the Pillsbury family, members of which founded the Pillsbury Company. [5] It was first powered by horses and later by a steam engine.
Olof and Ingeborg raised a family on the farm, with three children continuing to live and work the land after their parents' passing. The last surviving heir, John Swensson, bequeathed the farm to the Chippewa County Historical Society in 1967. Additionally, the family burial plot rests on the property.
The Swensson Farm Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It holds significance for several reasons: [6]
The farmstead gained recognition by being featured as a filming location for the Hollywood movie "Sweet Land" in 2004. [7]
The Chippewa County Historical Society which owns and operates the property is a non-profit organization founded in 1936 in Montevideo, Minnesota. Its mission is to preserve and interpret the history of Chippewa County for future generations. The CCHS operates three distinct historical sites: Historic Chippewa City, the Swensson Farm Museum, and the Lac qui Parle Mission.
Historic Chippewa City was established in 1965 as 20-acre open-air museum featuring a replica of a late 1800s village. It has 24 buildings, including a town square, boardwalk, bandstand, log cabins, an 1880s church, a general store, and various shops replicating those found in a pioneer village.
Lac qui Parle Mission is managed by the Chippewa County Historical Society for the Minnesota Historical Society, Founded in 1835, it was home to the first church bell rung in the state, the first woven cloth produced by European settlers, and the first written Dakota language dictionary and Bible.
Yellow Medicine County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its eastern border is formed by the Minnesota River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,528. Its county seat is Granite Falls.
Lac qui Parle County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,719. Its county seat is Madison. The largest city in the county is Dawson.
Chippewa County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,598. Its county seat is Montevideo. The county was formed in 1862, and was organized in 1868.
Camp Release State Monument is located on the edge of Montevideo, Minnesota, United States, just off Highway 212 in Lac qui Parle County, in the 6-acre Camp Release State Memorial Wayside. The Camp Release Monument stands as a reminder of Minnesota's early state history. The Minnesota River Valley and Montevideo were important sites in the Dakota War of 1862.
The Oliver Kelley Farm is a farm museum in Elk River, Minnesota, United States. From 1850 to 1870 it was owned by Oliver Hudson Kelley, one of the founders of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, the country's first national agrarian advocacy group. The Oliver Kelley Farm is operated as a historic site by the Minnesota Historical Society. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964 under the name Oliver H. Kelley Homestead—which also places it on the National Register of Historic Places—for its national significance in the themes of agriculture and social history. It was nominated as a representative of the beginnings of agrarian activism in the United States, setting the stage for the Farmers' Alliance and the People's Party of the late 19th century.
The New Hampshire Farm Museum is a farm museum on White Mountain Highway in Milton, New Hampshire, United States. Three centuries of New Hampshire rural life are presented in the historic farmhouse. The museum includes a 104-foot-long (32 m) three-story great barn with collection of agricultural machinery, farm tools, sleighs and wagons. There are also live farm animals, a nature trail and a museum shop. The museum is located on the former Plumer-Jones Farm, a traditional series of connected buildings with farmhouse dating to the late 18th century and barns dating to the mid 19th century, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Thorstein Veblen Farmstead is a National Historic Landmark near Nerstrand in rural Rice County, Minnesota. The property preserves the childhood home of Norwegian-American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929), best known for his 1899 treatise The Theory of the Leisure Class.
The Wencl Kajer Farmstead is a former dairy farm in New Market Township, Minnesota, United States. Situated on a hill with a distinctive round barn built in 1918, the farm was a prominent local landmark. The barn was removed from the property sometime between 2008 and 2017. The principal remaining historic building is the 1920 brick farmhouse. The farmstead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its significance in the themes of agriculture and architecture. It was nominated for being a highly visible representative of dairy farming, the predominant form of agriculture in 20th-century Scott County, Minnesota.
The Gibbs Farm is a museum in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, United States. The site was once the farmstead of Heman and Jane Gibbs, first built in 1854; the existing farmhouse includes the small, original cabin. The museum seeks to educate visitors on the lives of 19th-century Minnesota pioneers and the Dakota people who lived in southern Minnesota before the arrival of Europeans.
The Andrew Peterson Farmstead is a farm just east of Waconia, Minnesota, United States. The farm is located in rural Carver County, Minnesota, on Minnesota State Highway 5. The farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its association with its first owner, Andrew Peterson. It is owned and operated by the Carver County Historical Society.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Chippewa County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Chippewa County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
The Bonde Farmhouse is a historic farmhouse located in Wheeling Township in Rice County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from Nerstrand. The private home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 6, 1982. The farmhouse is significant both for its association with a prominent Norwegian immigrant family as well as its local limestone construction and outstanding integrity.
Rentschler Farm Museum is a historic site located at 1265 East Michigan Avenue near downtown Saline, Michigan. The site consists of an old-fashioned farmhouse and eleven outbuildings, including a hog house, an equipment shed, a hen house, and a windmill, among others. The site is now a museum that serves as a tourist attraction, showing how farming has changed over the years. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
Lac qui Parle Mission is a pre-territorial mission in Chippewa County, Minnesota, United States, which was founded in June 1835 by Dr. Thomas Smith Williamson and Alexander Huggins after fur trader Joseph Renville invited missionaries to the area. "Lac qui Parle" is the French translation of the native Dakota name, "Mde Lyedan," meaning "lake which speaks". In the 19th century, the first dictionary of the Dakota language was written, and part of the Bible was translated into that language for the first time at a mission on the site of the park. It was a site for Christian missionary work to the Sioux for nearly 20 years. Renville was related to and had many friends in the Native community, and after his death in 1846, the mission was taken over by the "irreligious" Martin McLeod. The relationship between the mission and the Dakota people worsened, and in 1854 the missionaries abandoned the site and relocated to the Upper Sioux Agency.
The Charles Spangenberg Farmstead is a historic farm in Woodbury, Minnesota, United States, established in 1869. The three oldest buildings, including an 1871 farmhouse, were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 for having local significance in the theme of agriculture. The property was nominated for being one of Washington County's few remaining 19th-century farmsteads.
The David Hanaford Farmstead is a historic farm in Monticello Township, Minnesota, United States. It was first settled in 1855 and features a farmhouse built in 1870 and a barn from around the same time. The farmstead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for its local significance in the themes of agriculture and exploration/settlement. It was nominated for being "an excellent example of an early Wright County farmstead developed by a pioneer family from New England."
Drake Farm is a historic farmstead at 148 Lafayette Road in North Hampton, New Hampshire. Built in 1890, the main farmhouse is a well-preserved example of a connected New England farmstead. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The David N. Peet Farmstead is a historic farmstead in Deerhorn Township, Minnesota, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its local significance in the theme of agriculture. The listing consists of four contributing properties: the 1901 barn, 1902 Queen Anne farmhouse, 1912 wood-hoop silo, and 1920 windmill. The property was nominated for being one of Wilkin County's best exemplars of the prosperity achieved by some of its late-19th-century farmers. Peet acquired the property in 1881.
The Langford and Lydia McMichael Sutherland Farmstead is a farm located at 797 Textile Road in Pittsfield Charter Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. It is now the Sutherland-Wilson Farm Historic Site.
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